


Father Knows Best

by osointricate



Series: Yours, Mine, & Ours 'verse [7]
Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: Case Fic, Character Study, Gen, John McGarrett's A+ parenting, Show level violence, Unbeta'd, a character that is a thinly veiled Eliot Spencer, the relationship is background noise
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-18
Updated: 2018-08-18
Packaged: 2019-06-29 03:20:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 7
Words: 27,181
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15720924
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/osointricate/pseuds/osointricate
Summary: Mary McGarrett and Ellie Clayton are from two completely different worlds and yet they have so much in common.The next fic in the Your's, Mine, and Our's series.   A case-fic/character studies on Mary and Ellie.





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

> Hello again! Next fic in the Your's, Mine, and Our's series. This time focusing on some of the important women in Steve's life. Show doesn't do much with them so guess what. They are mine now. I doubt Ellie much looks like what the show was imagining, but whatever. They deserve love and attention so I gave them some. I hope you all do too. SUPPORT FEMALE CHARACTERS. Also as a small warning, there's some tough subject matter about neglectful fathers. I hope I navigated those waters well. 
> 
> I'm also working on dialogue punctuation, so if you see variations or mistakes, know that it's a weakness of mine that I'm trying very hard to improve on. 
> 
> Enjoy!

~~~  
Mary - Age 10  
~~~

 

For a long time Mary thought moving away after someone died was what you were supposed to do.  Her mom was gone, so they were moving. It's what happened. But Steve was angry. The dimples had fallen from his face a long time ago.  She had crawled into his bed that night, because she didn't understand. She would, though. She would understand that her mother wasn't coming back and this was a sad time and Steve gave really good hugs.  It wasn't like she didn't know that already. Looking back, she knew Steve was hugging her because he was the one that needed the hug.

 

She wished she had held on tighter back then.  They were on a long plane ride alone together until they got to New York and met Aunt Deb.  Steve kept wiping at his face and she kept asking him what was wrong but he never would tell her.  He let out a single sob when the wheels hit the ground and she hugged his arm. He had pulled her head close to his chest until they were told they could get their things and unload. 

 

Three days later he did the same hug on the train ride south to Virginia.  There were no tears that day, so she assumed he was better. He was getting to go sleep-a-way school and she was entirely too jealous.  He told her not to be. He told her she was lucky to be living with Aunt Deb. How the city was exciting and she'd get to see plays and go to parks and museums.

 

"I'll find out all the best places," she told him on the train.  "So when you visit we can go to them. So you get only the best stuff."

 

He made a face and Deb covered her mouth listening from across the aisle, and then he smiled.  "You do that, Mare. It'll give me something to focus on and look forward to."

 

Mary rocked in her seat, happy to of done something good for her family for once.  That was the first smile on his face since their mother had died. He looked good with a smile on his face.  The smile disappeared at the train station where Uncle Joe was waiting for them. It fell off his face and an anger she didn't think her brother was capable of replaced it.  It startled her and she should have held him tighter.

 

"Son," Uncle Joe greeted him after he and Deb shook hands, the two of them already knew one another. 

 

Back then Mary thought he really was her father's brother.  It would make sense he was Aunt Deb's brother too. But they shook hands, they didn't hug.  How strange.

 

"Mmph," Steve greeted back, adjusting his backpack on his shoulder.

 

Uncle Joe let the cold greeting slide off his back and he smiled down at Mary, "Hello Mary."

 

"Hi Uncle Joe."

 

"Well," Joe said, looking them over.  "Our train's boarding now."

 

"Of course it is," Steve said sourly.  Then he turned to Mary. "Give me a hug.  I won't get another one until Thanksgiving."  He sent Joe some kind of dark look Mary couldn't decipher.  She gave him a sweet, quick hug, and his grip was a little too tight that it kind of hurt her shoulders. 

 

The train ride home was a blur of tears.  She didn't understand why she was crying. Someone died and you moved.  It's what you did. Of course it's what you do. Her mom died, she left her dad, and her brother was going to a neat school.  It's just what happened. But she cried, and cried, and cried until Aunt Deb and the rhythm of the train rocked her to sleep.

 

~~~  
Mary, New Year's Day, 2016  
~~~

 

In her defense, she had several good places lined up for her and Joan.  Asking Danny if he was renting out his place, last minute, on the plane… it wasn’t like he was her only option.  Just the best one she was hoping for. She was a better adult than that nowadays.

 

She was looking forward to living on the island again.  The few months she did after her father had died, and the long visits she had in the meantime… it felt like a good fit.  She’d been all over the world, but she had a soft spot for her birthplace, and she was excited for Joan to experience a little bit of what she remembered growing up there.  She wanted that life for her daughter. Growing up surrounded by the power of the ocean and the beauty of the wildlife and the hustle of tourists and the bright lights of a city.  It was a good mix. Plus Joan had family here she really needed to get to know. With Steve announcing his intentions to adopt Jack, she’d have a little cousin soon.

 

She deserved the world and Mary wanted nothing more than to give it to her.  Mary patted her hair behind the headphones. She woke up a little, focusing on her movie.

 

But here Mary was again, moving halfway around the world after someone died.  Aunt Deb’s passing was expected, but that didn’t mean she didn’t ache. The kids were all either asleep, or spaced out with headphones on.  Joan had her own tablet and headphones, her head nodding every few minutes. A few more scenes of Despicable Me and she’d be out for sure. 

 

Mary smiled at her daughter.  Easily the best decision she had ever made.  

  
Danny got up, after already switching seats with Nahele earlier when he and Grace wanted to play a game of cards, said nothing to anyone, and walked towards the back of the plane again.  Mary watched him go. He looked angry. 

 

Mary turned around to Steve, “what’s wrong with him?”

 

Steve didn’t look much happier, but instead of angry, he looked upset.  “Don’t worry about it.” 

 

“Right,” Mary said, turning back around.  Joan nodded her head again. Mary took in Steve’s sad face, how much it looked like that day on the plane, back when they left Hawaii for the first time.  How she always wished she could go back in time and hug him harder. Steve was hurting. The whole point of moving back to Hawaii was to be closer to her only family left.

 

She turned around again, “what’s wrong?”

 

Steve stared at her for moment.  “Nothing.” 

 

“You know,” Mary said, adjusting her feet into the aisle to have better access to lean around the back of the chair.  She shared a row with Danny and Joan, but Steve, Charlie, Jack, Grace, and Nahele were the row behind them. “Grace tells me that cop gut is genetic.  My cop gut is telling me: ‘liar.’” 

 

Steve rolled his eyes, but didn’t say anything.

 

“I’m your sister,” she tried quietly.  “We aren’t going to be close unless we talk to each other.” 

 

His eyes shot down to Charlie next to him, curled up asleep in the chair, and then to Grace across the aisle asleep against the window and Nahele zoned out under chunky headphones and a baby finally asleep under a light blanket on his lap.  Jack’s insistence that it had to be Nahele he slept on cut his and Grace’s card game short, but the boy didn’t complain and took the baby happily.

 

Steve scratched the side of his face and adjusted in his seat.  He looked toward the back of the plane, probably checking for Danny.  He sat back normal with a sigh. “It’s really not the place, Mare.” 

 

“Something happened.”

 

He licked his lips and for half a second it looked like he was about to cry.  Mary was shocked at the display. But as quick as the break in his armor came, it was gone.  “It’s really not the place.” 

 

“Oh, Steve,” Mary said.  She was out of her chair and hugging him.  He hugged her back from his seat easily. They held each other for a moment, Mary letting Steve hold on as long as he needed, and when he finally let go, she sat back in her chair still leaning around to face him.  “This may not be the place, but I’m not going to let you drop this.” 

 

He grinned sadly.  “Distract me in the meantime.  I know you’ve got a gig lined up at Wailana Diner… did you really not have a place to live until you asked Danny?” 

 

“I had prospects.”

 

“‘Prospects,’” he scoffed.

 

“And a hotel reservation!” she defended herself.

 

“Mary…”

 

“Stop that!” Mary said.  “I don’t need the judgment.  I am a mother! I did think ahead!  I wanted to see where I’d be living before I signed a contract and doomed my daughter to a dump for a twelve month lease!” 

 

“Alright, alright,” he held his hands up.  Then he pulled a face. “You’ve never said anything about me living in dad’s house.  You were his kid, too.”

 

She pulled a face.  “Nah, I can’t live there knowing he died there.  It’s all yours.”

 

Steve nodded, and looked away, one of his thousand yard stares.  She knew he cleaned up the crime scene. It’s part of the reason why she didn’t make it to the funeral, she knew the house wasn’t… she couldn’t face all that… 

 

Steve did.  And he did it alone.  Well, looking towards the back of the plane, not really.  Danny was already a staple in Steve’s life the first time she came home to the island.  

 

“Do you know anyone else?  Besides us?” 

 

Mary licked her lips.  “I know Ona, and Mamo.”

 

“Dad’s friends?” 

 

She sighed.  “Please don’t judge me for wanting to come home.” 

 

Steve smiled and blinked easy.  “Okay.” 

 

“Trust me, okay?  I’m a grown up, I promise.” 

 

“Okay.” 

 

She studied his face for a moment.  His eyes slid down to the seat in front of him, halfway to another thousand yard stare, and then he turned and studied Charlie.  Something about looking at the small boy was enough for a pained look to cross his face. 

 

“We’re definitely talking at some point in the future.”

 

“I’d like that,” Steve said with a smile that didn’t cover up the pained look on his face.

 

It was at that time that Danny came back, red faced like he had been wiping at his eyes in the bathroom for the last five minutes.  He looked straight ahead, didn’t look at Steve, didn’t look at Mary, but Mary watched as Danny sat down, stony faced and sniffed.

 

Mary openly stared at him.  He pointedly did not look at Mary and sat, arms crossed.  When he didn’t look her way she turned back around to Steve.  

 

“You free tomorrow?” 

 

Steve let out a single chuckle.  “Aren’t you moving into a new house?” 

 

She turned and eyed Danny, who was obviously listening to them.

 

“I sure hope so,” she said to Steve.

 

He pulled another pained face, and leaned forward, head in his hands in his lap.

 

“Whoa, whoa,” Mary said. “Okay.”  She turned to Danny over Joan’s head.  “What happened?” 

 

“Ask him,” he answered, not turning her way.

 

It was at that time she noticed Nahele, who had his eyes on Steve.  He looked curious and worried. He pulled his headphones off his head.

 

“What’s going on?” 

 

“Nothin’,” Danny turned around to face Nahele.  Then he turned back towards Mary, eyes still raw, “I’m not going back on my word, Mary.  You have a place to live.” 

 

There was an uncomfortable limbo of Steve’s head still in his hands, Danny not really looking anyone in the eye, Mary turning and checking on Steve and then back to Danny, and Nahele aware and trying to catch up to what was happening. 

 

Something happened.  Something major. Steve was worried about Danny moving out?  They were so touchy and lovey dovey this morning at breakfast.  All smiles and heated looks. She could have sworn that the two of them...

 

Then Nahele pointed to Joan - who had finally given in to sleep and had started falling over - and Mary moved quickly to catch her, but Danny was there first.  Joan’s tablet fell to the cabin floor. He finally met her eye. He looked just as pained as Steve did. 

 

“Thanks,” she said, pulling back on Joan, adjusting her so she’d be more comfortable.  Danny reached for Joan’s tablet, and made quick work of pausing the movie while Mary covered Joan with her jacket.  

 

“Why were you worried about Danny taking back is word?” Nahele asked, quiet.  He looked towards Steve, and Mary couldn’t see, but she assumed Steve was still in the same position.  He looked back towards Danny, more confused. 

 

“She doesn’t.  She’s going to live at my rent house.  That’s all that’s changing.”

 

She heard Steve let out a loud and long sigh and the rustling of him readjusting in his seat.  That’s apparently what he needed to hear.

 

It was Steve’s turn to ignore everyone and stand up quickly and head for the back of the plane.

 

Danny handed her Joan’s tablet.  “Don’t worry about it.” 

 

“You two,” she said, wrapping the protective case around the screen.  “So alike.” 

 

Danny didn’t say anything back to her, but he did to turn to Nahele, “It’s okay.  You okay?” 

 

“I kinda have to pee,” he said.  “Mind taking Jack?” 

 

Danny paused for an uncharacteristic moment, staring at the baby, before he shook himself.  “Yes. Yes, of course.” 

 

Whichever one of them did this needed a smack on the back of the head.  Mary took it upon herself in that moment to find out and be that person.  

 

~~~  
Ellie - Age 10  
~~~

 

"I don't understand, daddy," She said, as she rushed to close her open window from the incoming rain.  "Why'd we come here? It's always raining!"

 

Her father stuck his head into her doorway, "What girly?"

 

She rolled her eyes.  "Why'd we have to come here?  I miss home."

 

He sighed, made his way into her room, navigating around moving boxes, to let himself sit on her still unmade mattress.  "Sometimes... We lost mom quite quick, didn't we?"

 

It was still a fresh hurt, even if it was over a year ago.  She nodded. She'd have to find her box of pictures. There was her favorite with her and her mother at the beach that she was terrified would get lost in the move and had kept with her, but there were others.  So many others. In one of these boxes. She had a shelf already picked out for them. 

 

"Where we were... I couldn't be a good daddy there.  I was way too sad there." 

 

Ellie's eyes teared up.  It had been a quiet, bleak year.  They had no other family, and neither did her mother.  That's why her parents loved each other so much; they didn't have anyone else.  Then they had Ellie and it was perfect. Until it wasn't anymore. 

 

"I want to be a good daddy.  I want to raise you strong and happy."

 

"Did we have to do it here?"

 

"This is actually where your mother is from!"  He patted the bed for her to sit down next to him.  "You knew that. This way, we're always connected to her, but it's a new place.  We can learn to love this place together. Make new memories, but not leave mom behind."

 

"I miss her."

 

"I do too girly," he pulled her close.  "I do too."

 

They sat like that for a bit.  Her father's arm around her shoulders, sitting in the sad of it all, letting steady tears out.  That was his philosophy; that tears were just your heart's way of healing itself. Sometimes it got too full of sadness that you had to let it out or it would burst.  So just cry, and cry, and cry. It's the best thing you can do for a broken heart.

 

When the moment settled, she wiped at her nose and sniffed.  Her father followed suit.

 

"So, we need a break from unpacking," her father decided.  "What should we do first?"

 

"It's still raining, daddy," she gestured towards the window.

 

"Doesn't mean we can't go out, see what's around!  You know tomorrow you and I are looking at real estate.  We gotta make a living out here."

 

"The bar."

 

He nodded.  "It was always your mom's dream.  We're not leaving her behind. I'm going to make sure of that.  So, let’s go out into the world, and make this place home, huh?” 

 

~~~  
Ellie, January 3rd, 2016  
~~~

 

She usually had pancakes on Saturday mornings.  A habit left over from her days vying for John McGarrett’s attention.  He’d pick her up from whatever foster home she was staying in every couple Saturdays without fail and take her to Wailana Diner for pancakes and sneak her coffee.  She made it a habit after he died… to take a Saturday every now and then to sit down and enjoy an indulgent stack of pancakes.

 

Of course today was Sunday.

 

Yesterday was Saturday.

 

Ever since she met Steve McGarrett, Saturday mornings were left open just in case Steve text her asking her about pancakes.  Turns out John McGarrett used her as a stand-in for his kids, sharing a tradition with them that Steve, in turn, shared with her.  Or, they shared it with each other. How she looked at it depended on her feelings on John, which varied day to day.

 

Some days John was good and right and did no wrong.  Other days he was just a random guy that let her down.  

 

Steve, however, was a pleasure and a true friend.  He’d been busy with foster kids lately, and his partner moving in… so a few of the Saturday’s included a table full of kids in a booth behind her and a show.  Anyone with eyes could tell Steve and Danny were head over heels for each other, but they were too close to the subject; they hadn’t noticed yet. In the meantime, they were fun to watch over a good cup of coffee. 

 

Yesterday was Saturday and she craved pancakes and shot a quick message to Steve:

 

**_Ellie:_ ** **_  
_ ** _ Wailana and maple syrup? _

 

**_Steve:_ ** **_  
_ ** _ Not today, sorry.  I’ve got plans all day. _

 

**_Ellie:_ **

_ Alright.  I demand a breakfast in the next few weeks. _

 

**_Steve:_ **

_ You got it. _

 

She woke up Sunday with the same craving and took it upon herself to get those damn pancakes herself.  She used to do it alone all the time. She didn’t need company to eat breakfast.

 

So when she walked into Wailana and saw Steve sitting at a booth with another woman about her age, she grinned.  She walked right up to the booth and with as serious a face as she could muster she said

 

“McGarrett,” he looked up, and smiled instantly.  She motioned to the woman. “You cheating on me?” 

 

His face fell.  “What?” There was comical moment when he looked at his friend, and then back to Ellie, back to his friend, and finally back to Ellie again.  “What?” 

 

His friend looked confused.  Ellie raised her eyebrows at him, come on Steve, you were in the Navy; it’s not hard to realize you’re being teased.

 

He finally got it and rolled his eyes, he looked back to his friend.  “This is my friend, Ellie,” he told her. “She thinks she’s funny.”

 

“I’m hilarious,” she said, grabbing a discarded bit of charred bacon she knew Steve doesn’t like off his plate and popping it in her mouth.  His friend raised her eyebrows at the action. “So you don’t have time for breakfast with me…” She motioned to his friend, “you must be special.”  Then to Steve, “move over.” 

 

She pushed at Steve, who rolled his eyes and started moving over in the booth to allow her to sit with them.  He’d have said something at that point if she wasn’t welcome, but she still didn’t take her purse off her shoulder, in case she needed to say goodbyes and make a quick exit.

 

“Sorry, I really was busy yesterday.”

 

“Yeah, yeah, sure,” she said shrugged, still teasing.

 

“I was going to bring you malasadas tomorrow, but if you’re going to throw a fit about it…”

 

“No!  I’m not throwing a fit.  I just really had a craving for pancakes.”

 

“I’m pretty sure you’re capable of getting pancakes all by yourself,” he said, deadpanned, single eyebrow raised towards her.

 

She rolled her eyes, “what can I say, we’ve gotten into a routine, you and I.” 

 

Steve smiled at that, and she shared the smile back and reached for another bit of bacon, to which he smacked her hand.

 

“Ow!”  She mocked pain.  

 

“Order your own bacon, ya’ hog.” 

 

His friend leaned forward then, focused on Steve, her tone deep and weighty.  “You just got done telling me that you have a broken heart over Danny, I swear to God, Steve, if you have had a girlfriend on the side, I’m going to smack you so hard your great-grandchildren are going to feel it.” 

 

Ellie was taken aback and she knew she had wide eyes at his friend’s outburst.  Then she turned to look at Steve, who mirrored her expression perfectly. 

 

Then, in sync:  “No no no,” she said.  “This… is not… that,” he said.  “Steve? No,” she drawed out, low and slow.  “Not in a million years!” he exaggerated. 

 

That caused her to pause, “not even in the event of a zombie apocalypse where everyone else is dead?” 

 

“We have talked about that scenario, Ellie.  No, not even then!” His arms were flailing around like Danny’s.  Danny had been adamant in that particular argument that Steve couldn’t judge his mental and emotional state in the event that everyone he loved was dead and couldn’t predict the need for human connection.  Steve was redfaced and huffing and puffing about it and man, she liked Danny. Steve couldn’t get over the mental block of “zombies aren’t going to happen, you two. Charlie, don’t listen to them.” Party pooper.

 

“No, Ellie is just a friend.” 

 

“I thought you and I were going for brother and sister?”  She turned to the woman. “I'm more something like a sister,” she insisted.  The woman raised her eyebrows and gave an exaggerated nod.

 

“That’s exactly why ‘not in a million years,’” he said, pointed, finger pointed for emphasis.  

 

“Wait, did you say heartbroken over Danny?” Steve rolled his eyes and his jaw knocked out of alignment.  “What happened?”

 

“I’m not explaining it again today.” 

 

“He’s being stupid,” the woman offered.

 

“ _ You’re _ being stupid?  And  _ you’re _ the one with the broken heart?” 

 

Steve shrugged.  The woman nodded.  Ellie smacked him in the arm, without heat.  

 

“Ow,” he mocked pain, mocking her.  “I get it, I get it. I’ve been getting it from her all breakfast.” 

 

“Good,” Ellie said.  Whoever this woman was, she was good for Steve.  “You can tell me the details later, but if you’re the one being stupid, then just stop being stupid!”

 

“Mmm hmm,” the woman agreed.

 

He rolled his eyes again and sighed.  “It’s more complicated than that.” 

 

The woman rolled her eyes and then took a long sip of her coffee.  Ellie licked her lips, eager for her own cup. Steve moped in the corner of the booth, and both women said nothing to let him seep in his stupidity for a bit.  Ellie only shook her head at him. Men.

 

Then she noticed the woman studying her.

 

“So, sister, huh?” his friend asked with a bit of… smug? grin.  Ellie didn’t really know how to read her. 

 

Ellie nodded with a bit of a grin, “Not really.  No DNA test would link us, of course. Just a shared combo of daddy-slash-abandonment issues.”  

 

Steve did this phenomenal roll of his head several times, before he threw it down into a hand resting on the table.

 

“You know, for as dramatic as you are I have no idea how you made it in special ops.”  His friend snorted over her coffee.

 

He pulled a dramatic head back to give her an unamused face.

 

“See?” she asked his friend, holding up a hand as if to show off Steve’s overdramatic response.  The woman snorted again.

 

Steve practically whined.

 

“So, don’t mind him, who are you?” she asked.  

 

“Oh, I’m something like a sister, too.”

 

“Oh really?” she asked, curious.  Then, “Steven, do you collect sisters?” 

 

He looked defeated, a little scrunched over.  “Apparently. Why am I friends with you?” 

 

“Shared daddy-slash-abandonment issues.  Keep up.” She pointed to the woman. “You too?  We should start a support group.”

 

“Ellie!” Steve interjected.  “This is my sister, Mary.” 

 

Ellie turned to Mary with wide eyes.  “Mary,” she said. “The  _ actual _ sister!”  Mary nodded.  “The one that was moving to Hawaii in the new year.  It’s the new year already. Hi!” She held out a hand across the table.  “I’m Ellie. Sorry, about- all-. I’m Australian.” 

 

Steve chuckled at that.

 

“I noticed,” Mary said, shaking her hand. 

 

“I’ve truly been looking forward to meeting you,” she told Mary.  “Where’s your daughter? Joan, right?”

 

“Yeah, she’s getting to know her cousins,” Mary glanced towards Steve and then back to Ellie.  “I’m sorry, I haven’t heard anything about you.”

 

Ellie rolled her eyes, “Oh that’s okay.”  Then, to Steve with a click of the tongue, “really?” 

 

“How exactly am I supposed to have that conversation?”

 

“How did you two meet?” Mary asked.

 

“She was leaving flowers at dad’s grave.” 

 

Mary’s face turned curious and she adjusted in her seat.  “What? You knew our dad?”

 

“You know those daddy issues I was talking about?” Ellie asked with a scrunch of her nose.

 

Mary nodded.

 

“Yeah…” Ellie pulled a face.  “My father was murdered.”

 

“Something we all have in common,” Steve said softly, still looking a bit defeated and small in the corner of the booth, but more relaxed now.  Probably happy that the subject had changed off of his stupidity. 

 

“Well,” Ellie stumbled on that for a tick, “Yeah, but John was the main investigator on his case and he never solved it.”

 

“Five-0 did, a couple years ago.” 

 

“Yeah,” Ellie smiled.  “Thanks to Steve.” 

 

Steve shrugged in a small show of humility. 

 

“But John also…” she looked to Steve and then to Mary and let out a deep breath, “He kind of took me under his wing.  I was a kid in the foster system, and he was… a father figure of sorts.” 

 

Mary took a sip of her coffee, taking that in with another exaggerated nod.

 

“I’ve truly been looking forward to meeting you.  Steve has such wonderful stories about you. I don’t know if you know this, but he’s pretty proud of you, always showing off pictures and videos of your daughter.”

 

She grinned softly for a moment before rolling her eyes.  Steve moved his head and popped his neck, looking uncomfortable.  They looked around the diner, but anywhere except each other for a moment.

 

Emotional constipation seemed to be a family trait, then.

 

“Okay,” Ellie said.  “Mary. I’d like to get to know you.  What are planning on doing for work?” 

 

“Well,” Mary started, “I’m going to be a waitress here at Wailana.”

 

“Truly?”  Ellie was excited for her.  Wailana was a great little diner that most tourists skipped right over.  A little hole in the wall for the locals, and Mary getting a job in the little family the regulars and staff made boded well.  “I love it here.”

 

“Yeah,” Mary nodded.  “I remember Saturday mornings here like they were yesterday.  Just walking in here brings back memories like whoa. Plus, I love Ona.  She used to babysit me and Steve!” 

 

“Oh, I love Ona,” Ellie moaned.  Ona and her husband owned Wailana and had been a friendly face for most of Ellie’s life.  She sent a care package or two filled with left over baked goods while Ellie was off at Stanford.  “John would take me here every couple Saturday’s. I’m a regular.” 

 

“Ya’ a good tipper?” 

 

She chuckled.  She liked Mary.  “What are you doing Wednesday morning?” 

 

“Wednesday?” 

 

“Oh, Ellie…” Steve groaned.

 

“What?” Mary asked.

 

“Kono and I go to kickboxing classes every Wednesday morning.  Care to join us?” 

 

“Really?” Mary asked, excited.  “I was just googling kickboxing classes last night?”

 

“What?” Steve asked Mary.

 

“I kickbox,” Mary said proudly.  “You’re not the only badass in the family.  Deal with it.”

 

“Okay,” Steve chuckled and sounded impressed.  Mary raised her chin, smug.

 

“Give me your number, I’ll text you the details,” she said, reaching for her phone.

 

“For sure,” Mary said and they went about sharing their information.

 

Ellie eyed Steve while Mary was calling herself from Ellie’s phone; he looked pleased at their interaction.  “What?” she asked him.

 

“Nothing!” He said.  He turned to Mary, “I really wanted you to meet Ellie, and I didn’t know how I was going to make that happen, and this just… happened!  And you’re getting along! That’s great.”

 

“Two sisters,” Ellie said. “Honestly, three people makes a support group.  We all have so much in common.”

 

Their waitress stopped by after that, and Mary and Steve both invited Ellie to join them for real, and they settled into a nice, comfortable conversation while Ellie waited for her food.  Ellie got a few more details about Danny from Steve; something about putting his foster kids first, and Ellie had to admit she found that admirable even if Steve looked miserable talking about it.  Mary talked more about Joan and finding her and how it was public school for sure, no waitress salary was going to afford private school. Ellie revealed her career and Mary nodded that exaggerated nod again.

 

She had done it several times and Ellie couldn’t shake the feeling that she was being judged.

 

But things were going well, and they were all getting along pretty well by the time Ellie’s food showed up, and they lulled into a bit of non-conversation while Ellie scarfed down a good portion of her pancakes, so the last thing she expected out of Mary’s mouth was, “how old are you?” 

 

Ellie thought it a strange question, but indulged her, “I’ll be thirty-five in February.” 

 

“Right,” Mary said, biting her lip, looking upset at the news.  

 

Ellie watched the siblings as Mary fell in on herself, staring down at her coffee cup, and as Steve looked confused and then the epiphany on his face as Steve figured out what made Mary so upset and halfway reached across the table for her arm.  

 

“Mary…”

 

“It’s okay, Steve,” she shook her head.  “I’ve got to go.” 

 

“Mary, no,” Steve said.

 

“I can leave,” Ellie said instantly.

 

“No, it’s not you,” Mary said.  “Finish your breakfast, really. It was nice meeting you, but I’ve got to…”  She gathered her bag and pushed out of her side of the booth.

 

Steve shared a look with Ellie.  “Do you need a ride?” he asked.

 

“Nah,” she said, dropping a few bills on the table. “I can walk from here.  I want to walk.” 

 

“Mary, don’t worry about that,” Steve waved at the action.

 

“For the waitress then,” Mary insisted.  “I’ll text you later, Steve.”

 

“Will I see you Wednesday?” Ellie asked after her.

 

Mary stalled, mouth slack.  Then she shook her head. “Yeah.  Whatever, see you then.” Then she was gone, out the door, before either of them could say anything more.

 

“What just happened?” Ellie asked, worried and sad.  

 

Steve sighed and sat back into his seat.  “You know how you and I have shared daddy issues about John?”

 

“Yeah,” Ellie nodded.

 

“They’ve got nothing on Mary’s issues with him.” 

 

“What’s that got to do with my birthday?” 

 

Steve sighed, “Mary turned thirty-five a few weeks ago.  She put two and two together.” 

 

Ellie shook her head, not understanding.  

 

“She realized John used you as a stand-in for her.” 

 

The pancakes in front of her tasted bland and vulgar after that.   She didn’t want to be a stand-in for anyone. No wonder Mary left in a hurry; Ellie didn’t blame her wanting to be alone and away from them.  From her. 


	2. Chapter Two

~~~  
Mary - Age 15  
~~~

 

"Miss?" the train conductor asked.  "Do you have a ticket?"

 

She pulled a face, caught.  "I only had enough to get me here, but my brother lives closer to the next stop.  Can't I just ride this, just three more stops?"

 

The conductor bit his lip, "how old are you?"

 

"Eighteen," she said too quickly.  She knew she said it took quickly, took awkwardly.  "Please. My brother is at the Naval Academy and I have to see him.  If I get off at this stop, it's a two day walk. If I get off at the three from now, it's only half a day, please."

 

"I-" The conductor was shaking his head, and she knew this was the end of the line for her.  "I can't. Let's get you taken care of. Come on."

 

She grabbed her bag with a huff, upset that her plan had been foiled.  Begging didn't help, what good was it to keep pleading? He escorted her to a platform conductor and they shared a few words, and the platform conductor escorted her into a building and pointed at a bench.

 

"Let's call your parents."

 

Mary laughed in his face, but she sat down on the bench.

 

"Fine, I'll just call the police, they can deal with you."

 

She laughed again.  He waved a hand at her, done with her attitude. 

 

Mary sat on that bench for maybe a minute.  She was steaming. She was so close to Steve.  He was over eighteen. He could take custody of her.  They could go back to Hawaii. They could go home. They had to go home.  New York was suffocating. Nothing was familiar, nothing felt like her home, Aunt Deb didn't deserve this angry ball of hate that was her niece eating all her food - Deb could have been a real singer, a real performer if it wasn't for Mary - and she really, really, really wanted to go home.

 

Step one was getting to Steve.

 

Glancing up at the television... maybe step one was to book it out of there.  Her face was on the television. They had put out an Amber alert for her. Of course they did.  Deb would have called John and John would have told her to call the cops and she was a minor so of course they did.  She snagged her bag, threw the strap around her shoulders, and snuck out when the conductor wasn't looking and hoped that the guy hadn't seen her face on the news alert.  She had a long three day walk ahead of her. About four hours later, when she realized she didn't have any money, she stopped halfway through her packed sandwich. It was going to have to stretch a long two days.

 

Of course they had to kick her off the train.  Of course they did. 

 

She had made it to Trenton, though.  That knocked a whole day off of walking.  She didn't dare hitchhike. She wished she was brave enough, but she wasn't.  She acted like she was brave enough, but she wasn't. She hated herself and  _ she really needed to get to Steve. _

 

There was a motel off the road she was walking down when it was just too dark for her to keep going.  They had benches outside their rooms and she took a chance. In the morning there was a complimentary breakfast.  A woman did a double take at her in the waffle maker line, and her heart stopped. The Amber alert would still be active.   She quickly pocketed a couple muffins, grabbed two juice bottles, and she booked it out of there again. It probably gave her away, but she wasn't an actress.  She couldn't have lied about grabbing food for her family and heading back to the room.

 

That's what she thought about the rest of the morning though.  How she could have lied her way through that conversation. 

 

_ "My brother's hungry, but we've got to get going.  I'm grabbing him breakfast while he's in the shower,"  _ she'd say.

 

_ "How nice of you,"  _ that lady would have said.   _ "You'd think as popular as waffles are, they'd get more than one waffle maker." _

 

_ "Right?" _

 

It would have been that simple.  She just… Didn't have the confidence.

 

She wanted to make it to Maryland by nightfall, because her three muffins and half a sandwich just wasn't cutting it.  Her bag was getting heavy, and she was covered in grime from the road, and she didn't make it to Maryland, but she got close.  There was another motel, this time advertised about half a mile from the highway. They didn't have benches outside, they didn't have advertised free breakfast.  Her luck didn't extend that far. After a subtle trip into the lobby for the restroom and to fill up her water bottle, she settled herself down next to a tree at the edge of the parking lot.  There were some bushes that could hide her. This wasn't so bad.

 

Except it got cold.  Her single pullover sweatshirt wasn't enough warmth and she shivered all night long.

 

She woke to a car honking.  A family was rushing out of their room, probably wanting to get into D.C., get in as much sightseeing as possible.  Looking at her watch, it was only eight in the morning. Checkout was at eleven. They didn't seem like the type to skimp on the bill.

 

Maybe her luck was kind to her after all.

 

Standing up and shaking herself off, she waited for the family to load and drive off before she made a beeline to their room.  She switched the "do not disturb" sign to the outside of the room and sighed. She had done it, she had a few hours before housekeeping would be by.  Maybe she could take a shower, get warm. She checked the fridge and found a couple sodas and a minibar sandwich. She grinned and grabbed it with glee.  She stuffed it in her bag and headed into the bathroom. Her luck was kind to her, but she didn't want to push it. Her motel stay had to be short.

 

Combing out her hair after her shower, blow drying it the best she could, she stared at herself in the mirror. 

 

It had been a long, lonely trip.

 

She felt like she had grown up several years in the last few days.  Maybe not quite an adult, but much older than fifteen. She changed clothes, tied her shoes, and she was off.

 

Of course, because that was just the kind of trip she was having, the maid was outside, just two rooms down.  She studied Mary for a moment. "Are you here alone?"

 

"No," Mary said instantly.  "My dad went to go get gas. I'm supposed to meet him at the road."

 

"Okay..." the maid said with a bit of uncertainty.  "Be safe."

 

"Thanks," Mary smiled at her.  That was an easy lie off her lips.  She was getting better at this.

 

But not much better.

 

John found her in Baltimore.

 

She had gotten so close.

 

She was on the side of the road when a blue sedan pulled up in front of her.  Mary didn't think anything of it. There were plenty of stopped cars on the shoulder on her trip.  The last thing she was expecting was her father stepping out of the driver side door.

 

Stopping dead in her place, she was showered with indecision.  There was the inevitability: letting him win. And there was the chance that turning to the side, dashing down a side street, and running would cause him just a bit more grief.

 

"Don't you think about it!" he shouted.

 

She didn't move.

 

"Get in the car," he yelled.

 

She didn't move.

 

"Mary!  Now!"

 

She didn't move.

 

"Fine!" he growled.  He slammed the car door and then stormed up the highway.  He grabbed her shoulder and she went easily. She wanted to fight him, she really did.  But this trip was long and it was lonely and maybe, just maybe, he'd stick around long enough she could yell at him for a while.

 

"So good to see you too," she said with malice.  He only sighed.

 

He pushed her into the car and then stomped around the front of the car to push himself into the driver's seat.  Mary waited.

 

"What were you thinking?"

 

"I want to see my brother."

 

"You're going to see him in a couple weeks for Thanksgiving!"

 

"I want to see my brother," she said again, turning away from him.

 

"Three days, Mary.  You've been missing for three days."

 

"So this’ what it takes for you to get on a plane."

 

"Mary..."

 

She looked straight ahead.  "I want to see my brother."

 

"He's been worried sick about you, you know."

 

"Were you?"

 

"What?"

 

She turned to look at him.  "Were you worried? Or does "search for my runaway kid" just fall on the list of approved fatherly duties you follow?"

 

John only stared at her, then he turned back to look at the steering wheel with a broken look on his face.  Good. Let him feel some guilt. Let him hurt. He threw the car into drive and made a U-turn. 

 

"What are you doing?"

 

"I'm taking you back to your Aunt Deb.  I am still your father. You are still under eighteen.  I still decide what you do and where you live."

 

"Stop going North!  Annapolis is south of here!"

 

"No."

 

"You said Steve was worried, take me to Steve."

 

"No.  You can call him when we get back to New York, but you are not going to Annapolis."

 

"What if I want to join the Navy?"

 

"Do you want to join the Navy?"

 

"Don't you decide what I do and where I go?"

 

John got quiet after that.  It was a long drive back to New York City. 

 

She hated him the whole way.

 

~~~  
Mary - January 6th, 2016  
~~~

 

The kickboxing class was in a simple, old brick building simply called “Mike’s.”  It was the kind of gym the boxers went to train, and Mary had to bet it probably had its own boxing ring in the middle of the room.  From the outside it didn’t look like much. An old building in Chinatown, there was an apothecary next door, and a nail salon on the other side.  The class started at six am, apparently the first class of the day, but her bus got here at five-thirty and the doors hadn’t even been unlocked yet.

 

She briefly wondered if there was a coffee shop on this street, if she was going to make this class her routine.  With Ellie… she didn’t know if she could handle that. Everything about her screamed “Let’s Think About Your Father Now” and Mary really didn’t want to spend any thought on dealing with that.  She had moments in her life where she wanted closure, but her current circumstances just wasn’t one of them. 

 

Aunt Deb’s passing was just too recent.

 

Ellie seemed like a good person, and she and Steve had an easy rapoor.  She teased Steve relentlessly, and Mary found herself glad that Steve had someone like that in his life.  Well, she always imagined that would become  _ her _ role, now that she was living on the island.  Steve wanted them to get along, that was obvious.  Maybe he thought they’d be good friends, and - under different circumstances - they probably would be.

 

Lost in thought, she decided to do some easy stretches to prepare for the class.  In a gym like like this she didn’t know what a kickboxing class looked like. She was used to her ten dollar gym’s bright lights and neon colors.  Maybe this was more intense, especially if Kono took the class. But she needed it for what was ahead of her. A class like this might fit nicely into her plans.

 

You see, Mary had a secret.  She felt bad for keeping it from Steve all these years.  She let out a large breath thinking about it. So began the mental list of comebacks she had come up with all these years every time she thought about telling him.  

 

That’s when she heard the gunshot.  She pushed herself up against the gym walls as quick as she could.  It came from inside the gym. Then she heard breaking of glass down the alley next to her.  She counted to five and then peaked around the corner only to see someone in a black hoodie running down the alley away from her.  She took a deep breath and looked around. No one else was around; it was way too early. 

 

She pulled out her phone and called 911 immediately.  It rang and rang.

 

_ “9-1-1, what’s your emergency.”  _

 

“Yeah I’m at Mike’s gym on Lava Road in Chinatown.  I just heard gunshots and saw someone fleeing.” 

 

_ “Are you safe?” _

 

“Yeah, I think so.  I don’t think there’s anyone else.  I want to get in there, someone could be hurt!” 

 

_ “A patrol car is on its way, don’t put yourself in any danger.”  _

 

“Someone could be dying and I can help!”

 

_ “Please ma’am, wait for the authorities.”  _

 

She grew suddenly frustrated with the operator and pocketed her phone.  She double checked before going down the alley; the man in the hoodie was nowhere to be seen.  She found the window he had made his way out of, and the chair he had thrown through it to break it.  Pushing herself up and through the broken glass was tricky in skintight workout clothes, but she managed it without cutting herself.

 

“Hello?” she called.  “Anyone here?” 

 

She didn’t get a response.

 

The room she had let herself in was some sort of office and it was trashed.  Careful not to touch anything she didn’t have to, or mess anything up, she remembered her training.  She walked straight through the room to the door. On her way, she noticed a drawer on the desk looked like it had been opened with a key, the key left in its lock, but it looked like someone had tried to pry it open before that.

 

“Hello?” she called again.

 

She called it.  There was a boxing ring in the middle of the room, and legs laying on the floor sticking out from the other side of it.  She rushed to them only to find a man in a pool of blood, gunshot to the chest.

 

Pulling out her phone, she knew Steve was going to be upset with her.  “Hello?” she asked the operator. 

 

_ “Hello!  Police are on their way, please tell me you didn’t go inside.”  _

 

“I went inside.  There’s a man, he’s been shot.  We’ll need an ambulance too.” 

 

_ “Ambulance is on his way.  Is he alive?”  _

 

Mary took a deep breath and tried to remember the couple times someone tried teaching her basic emergency health procedure.  A swimming class during a rainy day. A parenting class where she was more concerned with how to change a diaper. Then, the CPR course she took as was required of her.  Something switched in her and she was by his side in an instant, feeling his neck for a pulse.

 

He was an older Asian man, pushing sixty, but fit for his age.  He wasn’t breathing.

 

“I don’t feel a pulse, and he isn’t breathing,” she switched to his wrist, to make sure. 

 

_ “Ma’am do you know CPR?” _

 

“Yes, but he as a GSW to the chest, the left side, I don’t think it would do any good.” 

 

_ “Ambulance is two minutes out, hold tight.  I want you to find someplace to hide in the meantime, in case the shooter comes back.” _

 

“Alright,” Mary said, looking around.  “The ladies locker room.”

 

_ “Good.  Lock the door if you can.” _

 

“Yeah totally.”  Mary did as she was told, and locked the door as soon as it was clear the room was empty.  “It’s locked.”

 

_ “Ma’am can you tell me your name?”  _

 

“Mary McGarrett.  My brother is Steve McGarrett of Five-0.”

 

_ “I can have dispatch call him for you.”  _

 

She really didn’t want Steve to berate her over this, but it seemed like the kind of thing that would come out, considering Kono was only a half hour behind her.  “Okay, sure.”

 

The operator asked her a few more questions, kept her talking through her nerves, and warned her when the patrol officers showed up on scene to secure the crime scene.  Then it was a series of “did you touch anything” “are you hurt” “where did you walk?” “what were you doing here?” “what did you see?” “could you tell his race?” and Mary answered everything to the best of her ability.

 

Then Kono and Ellie showed up in the same car and Ellie waited behind the blockade looking anxious, along with a few early morning looky-loos.  Kono greeted her with a light hug.

 

“I really didn’t want to see you again like this.”

 

“Hi,” Mary chuckled sadly.

 

“You okay?” 

 

Mary nodded.  “Steve’s gonna be pissed.”

 

“Yeah, probably.  I doubt he’s even awake yet.”

 

Mary groaned.

 

“Kono!” Ellie called out.  

 

Kono waved at her, then turned back to Mary, “the victim, was he an older Asian man?”

 

Mary nodded.  Kono’s face broke and Mary’s heart sunk.  These women knew the man, probably saw his face every Wednesday morning.  The gym was part of their routine. 

 

“I’m so sorry, Kono…” she trailed.  She reached out to hold her arm. 

 

“It’s okay,” she looked over her shoulder at Ellie, more anxious than before.  “It’s going to be harder on her.”

~~~  
Ellie - Age 15  
~~~

 

"Detective!" Ellie said as he walked through the door.  Her house mother turned to her with interest. "He's working my father's case, Maria.  He's a cop."

 

She nodded and let him in and then made her way back into the house.  As soon as he was through the door, she had thrown a quick hug around his shoulders and he gave her an awkward hug back.  Ellie chastised herself for doing that. They had only met half a dozen times. She was just so touch starved, and the other girls made fun of her for crying.  Her father taught her to let it out, but she had no privacy in this group home. She was hoping for an actual foster family placement one of these days. Then maybe she could cry to her heart's content.  In the meantime, the grieving process was just on hold.

 

Pulling back awkwardly, Ellie clasped her hands.  "Any news about my father?"

 

John bit his lip, "my daughter had an emergency on the mainland these last few days.  My partner Chin caught me up on everything he's been doing while I was gone."

 

How lucky his daughter was, to have a father that would up and leave when she needed him.  Her heart ached.

 

"I'm sorry Ellie.  Sometimes leads... they are dead ends.  But I'm not going to give up."

 

"It's been weeks," she said sadly.  "You aren't going to find anything."

 

"Ellie," he said, looking into her eyes.  "We just need the right combination one of these days.  Of people investigating, a lead, science getting better in forensics... it'll get solved.  I'll make sure of it."

 

She was a loss for words.  There was a part of her - a big part - that wanted to believe him.  But there was another part, the part that was suffering under not being able to grieve properly... it doubted him. 

 

"Now," he said, standing up straight again.  "Where'd your house mother go, I want breakfast."

 

She grinned.

 

They ended up in a diner just down the street and she had a stack of pancakes and he had a heart healthy plate of egg whites and it was a good day.  She hadn't had many of those the last few weeks. There were some major legal pains she had to hurdle to be able to have access to her father's money just to be able to bury him.  There was lots of screaming on the phone and lawyers that talked down to her and laws that said she couldn't do anything because she was a minor. 

 

She felt like she had grown several years in the last few weeks.  Adult phone calls, bank account numbers, signatures on retainers, a trust document thicker than her science book.  It was intimidating.

 

"The law has got to change, Detective."

 

"John."

 

"What?"

 

"Call me John."

 

She blinked several times.  "Alright. But I'm not the only kid that's going to have trouble burying a parent."

 

"Then do something about it."

 

"They won't let me!"

 

"Then grow up and do something about it," he said taking a bite.  "Be a lawyer."

 

She played with the ketchup with one of her fries for a moment, thinking that over.  "It would be nice to make sure murderers go away."

 

John looked down at his meal for a moment.  There was a moment where he looked so frustrated, then he shook his head and grinned at her.  "They call those lawyers prosecutors. They fight for the state and for the victims that can't afford it."

 

"Really?  Lawyers that don't care about trusts and percentages earned and all that?"

 

John nodded. 

 

"Hmm," Ellie said.  "Maybe."

 

John grinned again.

 

"So is your daughter okay?"

 

John looked up suddenly.  "What?"

 

"You said that you were gone because your daughter had an emergency.  Is she okay?"

 

"Yeah," he said with a huff.  "She's fine. Grounded, but fine."

 

"Grounded?"

 

"She ran away from her Aunt."

 

Ran away?  From a home that wanted her?  Why would anyone do that? That's all Ellie wanted right now.  A room where she could cry, a house where her roommates weren't rough and mean, and someone to explain legal jargon to her.   His daughter had a home and she left it. Ellie couldn't even imagine that.

 

"You said she was my age?"

 

John nodded. 

 

"Why?"

 

John tilted his head, confused. 

 

"Why doesn't she live with you?"

 

He puffed out his cheeks in an exaggerated sigh, "it's dangerous being the child of a single cop."

 

Ellie tried to digest that.  Cops were supposed to be safe figures.  "I don't think that sounds too bad." There was a small part of her that wanted John to be that foster home.  She’d be a good fit with him, she was sure of it. That same small part was frustrated with him for not taking her in.

 

"So how are you liking the group home?"

 

It was Ellie's turn to sour down and shrug.

 

"That good, huh?"

 

She shrugged again.

 

"When do they think you'll get placed?"

 

"I'm fifteen."

 

"So?"

 

"It's harder to get placed when you're older."

 

"...well maybe I can do something about that," he pointed his fork at her hopeful face.  Her heart soared. Maybe he was talking about his own home. "No promises though. I do promise to try."

 

Four days later, it wasn’t John’s home, but she had her own room and didn't stop crying for a whole day.

 

~~~  
Ellie - January 6th, 2016  
~~~

 

What was it about her that meant all her fathers ended up dead at the end of a gun?  First her father, killed in a angry rage. Then John, killed in an international conspiracy.  Now Mike Jones, her final foster-father, killed for who knows why. 

 

One thing was for sure, her father and John’s murders went unsolved for so long, she wasn’t going to let that happen to Mike.

 

“Ellie, I’m so sorry,” Kono said, rubbing her arm.  She had invited her back past the blockade and let her sit on a patrol car.  

 

Steve had shown up, and he and Mary were having a heated conversation across the street.  His arms were gesturing towards the building and Mary was meeting him blow for blow. She may have been two feet shorter than her brother, but she held her ground impressively.  

 

“Did he have any family?” Kono asked.  “Anyone we can call?” 

 

Ellie shook her head, “His wife passed a few years ago.  There’s a couple foster kids that will miss him, I’m sure.  Oh,” Ellie realized. “Zach Markus and Kalio Tabata. They were in the house the same time as me.  They’d want to know.”

 

Kono nodded.  “I can make the calls if you want.”

 

“No,” Ellie shook her head.  “No I want to.” She took a big gulp.  “Do you mind if I sit in your car?” 

 

“No,” Kono shook her head.  “Take your time.” 

 

About a half hour later Zach and Kalio were both at the scene and the three of them stood shocked in the street outside a gym that had become a second home to all of them.   Zach was significantly younger than her, by almost ten years and wearing a HFD shirt and jeans. Kalio was older, but only by three days, looking fresh from the beach. Of all of Mike’s kids, the three of them were with him the longest.  When the initial shared shock passed, Steve and Mary made their way over to them and introduced himself.

 

“I’m so sorry, guys,” he told them.  Then he hugged Ellie. “I’m so sorry this keeps happening.” 

 

She let out a single, sobby chuckle.  Give it up to Steve for reading her mind.  Brother, for sure. Their childhoods were too similar for him not to be.  Mary stood awkwardly to the side, looking pained and sorrowful.

 

Mary walked up behind him, quiet.  Her exit from the diner on Sunday ran through Ellie’s mind.  She had shown up to the gym, even after obviously being hurt by Ellie’s past with John.  Suddenly she hated John for doing that to her, what a jerk, then felt guilty about it. He was gone and to speak ill-will seemed wrong somehow, but Mike’s sudden death was throwing all sorts of forgotten emotions up.

 

“So, there was a drawer in his office that looks like it was tampered with.  Any of you have any idea what was in it?” He looked stricken. 

 

They shook their heads.  

 

“Nah, man,” Kalio said. “I don’t know.” 

 

“You work at the gym,” Zach said.  “You don’t know?” 

  
“No, man, I don’t know!”

 

“You got nothing?  Where were you, weren’t you supposed to open?”  

 

“No, I switched to Tuesday and Thursdays and the weekends with the new year.  Mike wanted to chill out more, do less. He was talkin’ about retiring!” 

 

Steve adjusted his belt and switched his weight.  “Do you know if he had any enemies?”

 

“He was a loving foster father, Steve.” 

 

“I know my dad isn’t a fan of him,” Zach mentioned, “But no way he’d kill him.” 

 

“We’ll still look into it.”

 

“Feel free, no love lost,” Zach agreed.

 

“Five-0 is taking this case?” Ellie asked.

 

Steve nodded, “of course.”

 

“Good.”

 

Steve turned to Kalio, “do you know if he kept cash on site?” 

 

“Well, sure, but never nothing more than a thousand or two.  We go to the bank almost every week. He never liked keeping a lot of cash.” 

 

“The gym is doing that well?” 

 

“Come on, Steve,” Kalio said.  “You and your team are regulars here.  We aren’t rolling in it, but we do okay.” 

 

Steve nodded.  

 

“You’re all regulars?” Mary piped up from the peripheral of their circle.

 

Steve nodded, “thanks to Ellie.  It’s a good gym. Mike was a good guy.” 

 

They all took a moment to digest the past-tense.  

 

Ellie shook herself.  “Guys, this is Mary, Steve’s sister.  She found him and called it in.”

 

“Ellie said you went in to see if you could help,” Zach said to her.  “Thank you for trying.”

 

Mary nodded, “of course.”

 

Kalio turned to Steve, “so you said a drawer was tampered with?”

 

“Yeah, it took a key to unlock it,” Steve told him.

 

Kalio shook his head, “I don’t remember him keeping anything in the drawers.  He had a safe for the important stuff.”

 

“Safe wasn’t touched,” Steve told them.

 

“So we find out what was in the drawer, we find his killer?” Ellie asked.

 

“That’s the idea.”

 

Whatever was so important, it better the holy grail.  Ellie had to excuse herself after that with a word to Steve and her foster brothers to call her if they needed her, called in to work, and then walked herself home.  She was thankful for the long walk home, it let her have time to try to work through everything.


	3. Chapter Three

~~~  
Mary - Age 16  
~~~

 

Like most traumatic events, the truck came out of nowhere.  

 

Well, Mary didn’t know, she had her head down.  The jerk threw her across the backseat of the cab and threw her so hard against the window that it shattered.  She was conscious just long enough to see some beat cops running towards them.

 

What’s awful is that Mary hated cabs before that night, but Aunt Deb didn’t want her on the subway after dark and it was going to be too far to walk - she’d miss curfew again if she didn’t take that cab.

 

She was unconscious for two days, but when she woke up it was to a tired looking Steve.

 

“Hey!” he said, looking excited.  He grabbed her hand. “Hey! Hi.” 

 

She smiled.  Seeing her brother was always a good thing, but it wasn’t Christmas.

 

“Is it summer break already?” 

 

“What?” 

 

“What are you doing here?” 

 

“...Mare… you were in a car accident.  Do you remember?” 

 

It took a moment, but yeah.  She did, and she nodded slowly.

 

“I’ll call the nurse,” he pressed some kind of button on the side of the bed. “Aunt Deb and dad went to go get food.  They’ll be mad they missed you waking up.” 

 

“Dad’s here?” 

 

“...yeah.  As soon as he got word he was on a plane.  I’m glad I got to come.” 

 

“Was everyone okay?” she asked.  Steve’s smile fell.

 

The cab driver did not make it.

 

A drunk driver walking away with nothing; Mary had a few cuts, a broken arm, and a serious concussion; but the cab driver didn’t make it.  Mary would later find out that he had a ten year old daughter. 

 

She cried through her first examination, and fell asleep again.

 

The next time she woke up, it was her father sitting next to her instead of Steve.  He was asleep and she hated him; she looked away.

 

He stayed with them for a few weeks while she recovered.  They didn’t talk much beyond “I’m glad you’re okay” and “talked to some people and made sure the drunk driver was going to prison.” 

 

“I’m glad copwork is all you can think about,” Mary said, full of malice.  

 

“You know I’d do anything to have you with me.” 

 

“Oh, yeah, that’s obvious.” 

 

John left on a Tuesday.  Mary gave him half a hug.  Had she known, she’d have thrown her arms around him and held on tight; it would be the last time she ever saw him in person.

 

~~~  
Mary - January 6th, 2016  
~~~

 

Mary had an afternoon shift; she was still training at the diner, but she had waitressed before.  It wasn’t hard. She welcomed the distraction. All day she had visions of Mike Jones, dead on the ground.  She was wiping down a table when she had a flash to the memory, except this time Mike Jones looked like her father.

 

She was out of there at four, and instead of going to pick Joan up at her daycare she went straight to Five-0’s headquarters.  This morning left an itch she was dying to scratch.

 

When she got there, after going through the process of getting a visitor’s badge, she let herself into the bullpen where she found Ellie, still dressed for her morning workout, arguing with half of Five-0, including Steve.

 

“Kalio is not that corner kid anymore!” Ellie practically shouted.  “Mike turned him around! I swear, this is all so familiar.” 

 

“He has connections to the Yakuza, Ellie, we have to look at him!” 

 

“Yeah,” Danny started, “Did you know Mike’s gym used to be a haunt for lots of Yakuza boys?” 

 

“What?” 

 

“We talked to two guys this morning that said the place used to be a great place to find an alibi if you needed it back in the day,” Steve told her.  Mary walked up slowly. She didn’t want to interrupt, curious about the leads they had found. “Said they thought Mike took money under the table. Maybe-” 

 

“No,” Ellie shook her head after a moment of being slack jawed.  “No way. Mike’s not that guy.” 

 

Steve licked his lips and put his hands on his hips.  He looked like he didn’t want to believe what he was saying.  

 

“Look, I get he was there for you, and I get that it’s deja vu,” Steve said carefully.  “But this is just what we’ve turned up in a couple hours, Ellie.”

 

Ellie noticed Mary, but didn’t give her much attention.  Mary didn’t blame her. Then, “what about the bootprints?” 

 

Mary perked up.

 

“The alley is a heavy foot trafficked area,” Chin said, just as carefully.  “We found half a dozen foot prints. Plus Kalio’s prints are all over the back office.”

 

“Because he works there!” Ellie argued, arms waving wildly.  She cut herself off as soon as the words were out of her mouth.  She pushed the hair out of her face and took a steadying breath. “Just promise me you won’t super focus on Kalio.  I’ve seen it in cases I’ve worked that had to be thrown out because a cop went too far down a dead end street.” 

 

“We’re not a hundred percent on your foster-brother, okay?  He’s just a lead and we’ve got to follow it.” 

 

Ellie sighed.  “Good. I swear, Steve, this is my dad all over again.”  

 

“I know,” he said sadly.  “I’m sorry.” He shuffled on his feet for a moment, sharing a pointed look with Danny.  “Look, El, you can’t tell him we’re onto him.” 

 

“‘Onto him?’” Ellie repeated.  “Steve!” 

 

“I know, I know, but if this leads somewhere-”

 

“I’m not going to tell him!” she said with a huff.  She looked around at a loss, unsure of what to do with her hands. “Let me know if I can help.”

 

Steve, Danny, and Chin all nodded at her plea.  Then she turned around, nodded at Mary, and let herself out.

 

Mary turned and watched her go.  “Is she going to be okay?” 

 

“If we stopped accusing her family of murder, sure,” Chin offered.

 

“So Kalio has a past?  He seemed like a good guy.” 

 

Steve shrugged.  “He has an old juvie record we got opened.  With the gym’s connections to the Yakuza… he’s worth looking into without any other leads.” 

 

“What’s this about a bootprint?” Mary asked.

 

“Eric found it, said it looked as fresh as yours, but… there’s no way to be certain,” Chin told her.  “It’ll only be useful unless we find the boot that matches it.” 

 

Mary wasn’t so sure about that, but held her tongue.  She knew where she could find out more information.

 

“Did you remember anything else?” Steve asked her.

 

“No, sorry.”

 

“Hey,” Lou walked into the bullpen. “Tabata left his house, stopped at a bank on 4th.” 

 

Mary turned to Steve, “you put a tail out on Ellie’s foster-brother?  With what evidence?”

 

“I’m trying to do my job, Mary.”

 

Immunity and means, apparently. 

 

Her next stop was Joan’s daycare.  Halfway home, and stopped at a red light, she fought herself.  Five-0 could handle this, no problem. She had every faith in Steve and his team.  There was that one time when she was kidnapped and Steve and Danny had her back in less than two hours.  A large white truck passed in the intersection in front of her and her mind flashed to Mike Jones, dead on the floor again.  She pressed her eyes closed, only to picture her father.

 

She shook her head.  She couldn’t just do nothing.  That old, familiar itch. A riddle that needed solving.  A mystery she had to uncover. A secret she had to learn.  

 

_ “I swear, Steve, this is my dad all over again,” _ Ellie’s voice rung in her ear.

 

Then the light turned green and she changed lanes, mind made up.

 

She looked to Joan in the rearview mirror, “want to see where Eric works, honey?” 

 

“Yeah!” Joan said excitedly.

 

A quick drive to the crime lab was smooth enough, itch relieved for now with a plan in her head.  Getting another visitor’s pass was easy enough too, being Eric’s roommate. Eric was an easy roommate so far - and Mary had roomed with enough awful types that she could tell how it was going to work within a week - and he seemed to adore Joan.  

 

Mary had a friend back in New York City, Eli McGregor, and Joan had cried when he had said his goodbyes.  If all went according to Mary’s plan, the goodbyes wouldn’t be for very long, but Joan didn’t understand that.  Uncle Eli was a staple around their home, and he and Joan were big fans of each other.

 

Eric was a good substitute to ease the burn on Joan.

 

Joan spotted him, “Hi Eric!” she waved excitedly.

 

“Hey, girly!” he greeted, just as excited, in full lab coat and rubber gloves.

 

“Hope we aren’t interrupting important work,” Mary said, walking in comfortably. 

 

“Oh, nah,” he waved over his shoulder.  “I’m mostly waiting on the computer right now.”  He smiled and held out a hand for Joan to high five and they shared a moment.  “What brings my gorgeous roommates to my office?” 

 

Mary smiled easily, “Joan has kept asking about your work I know it’s gotta be getting annoying.” 

 

“Not at all,” he winked at Joan.  He was a good sport. Joan was curious child and the constant barrage of questioning was borderline invasive, especially with someone not used to children.  Joan giggled at his wink and he smiled. Then again, he had several small cousins and he was dating a nanny, so. Maybe he was just good with kids.

 

“I thought a tour might soothe some curiosity.  If you’re not busy, that is.” 

 

“Well, alright, sounds fun,” Eric said with a grin, “Where to start?” 

 

“What are you working on?” Mary asked, pointing to his computer, busy running through some kind of database.  

 

“I’m running prints now,” he turned and clicked a few screens.  “From the…” he glanced down at Joan, “...thing,” he said with emphasis, “this morning.” 

 

“Oh,” Mary said.   _ ‘Good timing, _ ’ she thought to herself.  

 

“Are they a bad guy’s fingerprints?” Joan asked sweetly. 

 

Eric shrugged, “Maybe.”  He clicked again, and man, did Mary’s luck today turn on a dime, he opened up pictures of bootprints.  They were a distinctive kind of sole, for sure. “These might be his footprints.” 

 

Joan ooh’d impressively.  

 

“What do you make of it, Mary?” Eric asked.

 

“What?” 

 

“It can’t be the first crime lab you’ve been in, with your work,” he said, knowing.  Joan spilled the beans on her secret the moment Eric explained his job to her. Eric swore to keep her secret, roommate to roommate, saying something like knowing what it was like to have a judgemental cop in the family questioning your every decision.

 

“Oh, I don’t know.”  Mary sighed, “But I did…” she glanced down at Joan, “...find the scene this morning, so I feel connected to it.” 

 

“I’ll bet,” he let out a sympathetic chuckle.

 

“Thanks for dropping Mary off at school this morning,” she said.  “It might be awhile before Wednesday morning workouts happen again.” 

 

Eric smiled, “It was no problem.  Joan and I rocked out to some Bon Jovi.” 

 

“Why are you teaching my daughter that Jersey crap?”

 

“Watch it Brooklyn,” Eric said without heat.

 

They laughed with each other easily.  Mary living in New York City, and Eric growing up only a few bridges away also made the transition for Joan easier.  His accent probably sounded familiar in a strange, exciting land. 

 

“Well,” Eric held out his hand for Joan.  “Let’s start that tour. Want to watch my coworker shoot a gun into a box?” 

 

“Totally,” Joan said, excited.  Mary rolled her eyes.

 

“Well, let’s get you some headphones for the noise.” 

 

Eric whisked her daughter away around some lab tables and Mary took a moment to think about what she was doing.  If she made a wrong step, this could look bad on Eric.

 

She shook herself.  It was just a few pictures.

 

Looking around the room to Eric’s coworkers, she found them either busy with their own projects, or focused on meeting the child in their workplace.  Science nerds were always ready to show off their toys. She took the moment of distraction to hold up her phone to the computer screen and take a few photos of the infamous bootprint.  She stuffed the phone back in her pocket, as nonchalant as she could muster, and then went about watching a ballistic testing.

 

Later, once she was home, and Joan was busy with a plate of mac and cheese, she pulled out her phone and called a familiar number.

 

_ “Hello?”  _ Answered a deep, male voice.

 

“Didn’t wake you up, did I?  What is it, midnight there?” 

 

_ “What is sleep?” _

 

“This thing mentally healthy people do,” she joked.

 

_ “That explains things,”  _ he deadpanned back.

 

“Eli, I need you,” she said, straight to the point.

 

_ “Is it Joan?”  _ he asked, and bless him.

 

“No.  I got an itch.”

 

_ “You and your itches.  You know what to do with those.” _

 

“Cops have it.”

 

_ “Then ignore it.” _

 

“Please, Eli.” 

 

There was a long pause on his end and Mary waited anxiously.

 

“I’ll do it with or without you.” 

 

_ “Alright.  But you’ll owe me.” _

 

“Put it on my tab.” 

~~~  
Ellie - Age 16  
~~~

 

“Now, easy, lift your foot off the break and…”  The marquis jerked around them, throwing them forward in the parking lot, and John laughed.

 

“This isn’t funny!  Why are you teaching me with a stick shift?  My foster dad wants to teach me on an automatic, he says it’s easier.” 

 

“Listen,” John turned to look at her.  “If you can learn to drive a stick shift, you can drive anything.”  

 

“Is this how you taught your kids?” 

 

John was quiet for a moment, “I never taught my kids how to drive.  Their mom died in a car accident. Steve was old enough before he went to school, but… He wouldn’t get behind a wheel back then.  His mom’s death was too fresh.”

 

“How’s your daughter doing?”

 

“Better, last I talked to her.” 

 

“Good.  I bet she’d complain about learning on a stick shift.” 

 

“I bet she’ll never drive a car after that accident,” John said.  “Which is why I’m teaching you. You can’t always avoid accidents, but I can teach you ways to try to.”

 

“I don’t know why I need my license anyway.  I can ride my bike everywhere I need to go. I saved up and bought a good one, ya know.” 

 

“I know you did,” John told her.  “Listen, being a foster kid is crap.  I know that.” 

 

“You could do something about that too, ya know.” Her current home was pretty okay, and her foster-siblings made life interesting, but there was just something about John that made her want to live with him.  She didn’t understand why he didn’t want her; she was a great kid, everyone told her enough that she knew that.

 

“Ellie…” 

 

“I know, I know.  ‘It’s not safe,’ or whatever the hell else.”

 

“I would if I could.  I’d be with all my kids.” 

 

The statement was as close to a declaration of adoption as Ellie was ever going to get out of the man.

 

~~~  
Ellie - January 6th, 2016  
~~~

 

“Where were you this morning, Kalio?” she couldn’t warn him, she wouldn’t - she had to trust that Five-0 would give her foster-brother the benefit of the doubt - but she could establish his alibi for herself.

 

“You going to get onto me about switching mornings like Zach did?”

 

Ellie pulled a face, “It’s just grief, ‘Lio.” 

 

“I know,” he shrugged.  “I surf on my mornings off.  Helps clear my head. Remember when Mike used to take us in the mornings before school and Zach would whine about not being old enough?” 

 

Ellie grinned at the memory.  Kalio was already in the house when she became a foster-daughter to the Jones’, but Zach came in after her.  He was so much younger than them, but so insistent he could do everything they could do.

 

“Mike eventually taught him how to surf, too.” 

 

“I can’t believe you lived on the island for five years without learning to surf,” Kalio teased her.

 

“Mike fixed that; it’s not like my father knew how, either,” Ellie defended herself.  She briefly wondered if John could surf. Surely, both Steve and Mary were surfers.

 

“That cop friend of yours was asking me about juvie,” Kalio told her.  “I think they think I had something to do with this.” 

 

Ellie couldn’t help herself, “did you?” 

 

The look of betrayal on Kalio’s face told her exactly what she wanted to know.  “You know I didn’t. Mike saved me. Not just with everything when I was younger.  He gave me a job after the divorce, when I was low. He saved me twice.”

 

“I sorry,” Ellie meant it.  

 

“I know you like these Five-0 guys, Ellie,” he said.  “But one stupid decision I made when I was thirteen doesn’t make me a murderer.” 

 

“I know it doesn’t.” 

 

They were sitting at Mike’s dining room table - his house had been cleared by HPD only an hour ago - going over funeral house brochures Mike had saved from when their foster-mother Nani had passed.  It was all so fresh, and Ellie didn’t particularly care to think about funeral arrangements right now. From the look on Kalio’s shoulders, he didn’t either; he was just going through the motions.

 

Ellie couldn’t tip him off about himself, even if he already seemed to suspect, but... 

 

“Did you know about the gym?” 

 

“What about it?” 

 

“Was it really a Yakuza hangout when we were kids?” 

 

Kalio was quiet, “where’d you hear that?” 

 

“Five-0.”  She rolled her eyes and leaned forward onto the table.  “Tell me it’s not true.” 

 

Something flashed across Kalio’s face, like he just realized something, and he pushed back from the table, “Mike was a good guy, Ellie.”  He stood up quickly. “That’s all you gotta know. We can work on the funeral later.” 

 

“You just remembered something,” she accused him.

 

“It’s nothing,” he told her.  “I gotta go.” 

 

He left in a hurry after that, leaving Ellie alone in an empty house.

 

~  
January 8th, 2016  
~

 

Ellie had just gotten out of court.  She lost footing in her current case, and in an embarrassing way.  It was clear she needed to take her boss’ offer of taking some time, at least until Mike’s killer was caught.  Planning to ask for that time first thing Monday morning, Ellie decided to stop by Kalio’s. He wasn’t telling her something, she just knew it.  

 

She pulled up to his apartment building just as it started to turn into evening, but the sky was threatening rain.  Just as she turned off the engine she spotted her foster-brother walking down the stairs of his apartment, accompanied by three other men who were leaving.  They all seemed to be the same age, but one of them looked familiar. She tried, but she couldn’t place him. Maybe just a friend of Kalio’s she’d met once or twice.

 

They stopped at the stairs leading up to his place and talked for a moment.  Ellie stayed in her car and gave them privacy, patient enough to wait for them to go.  Their conversation lasted a few minutes, and Kalio and one of the others gave each other an overly masculine hug, and then he waved at the other two.  They all gave him upward nods of the chin and left. Kalio turned around the stairs and walked in towards where Ellie knew the mailbox bank was.

 

Ellie took this as her cue to get out of the car and confront him.

 

“Kalio!” she called as she got closer.  Sure enough, he was standing in front of his mailbox, going through his mail.

 

“Ellie!” he said.  “I thought I’d see you and Zach tomorrow at the funeral home.”

 

“Yeah…” she crossed her arms.  “I need you to tell me what you know about Mike working with the Yakuza.”

 

Kalio’s face fell.  “Ellie,” he groaned.  He slammed his mailbox closed and pulled out the key with a huff.

 

“Kalio, please,” Ellie asked again. “He meant a lot to me too.  I need to know.” 

 

He rolled his eyes and pushed past her.  “You were the perfect kid, Ellie. I was the problem.”

 

“What’s that have to do with anything?” She turned her body, following him, waving her arms.  “You’re not that kid anymore!” 

 

“No, I’m not!” He turned around at the bottom of the stairs.  “Thanks to Mike!” He started up the stairs again.

 

“Then I don’t understand why he was involved with the Yakuza, then.”  He was already up the stairs, and she darted after him. “Wait! Kalio, wait!  I want to talk about this!” 

 

He was at his door before he turned back around, face full of emotion.  “It was because of me, Ellie! He was in trouble with them back then because of me!”  He opened his door to push into his apartment.

 

“Wait,” Ellie stepped forward, but he sighed and looked down to the ground.

 

“I thought it had died down,” he said to his shoes.  “I thought it was over when Michael Noshimuri went to prison.”

 

That name stuck out to her.  That was a Yakuza name, for sure.  Not to mention the connection to Kono.  “What was over?”

 

He didn’t say anything, only bit his lips.  “If this had anything to do with all that… Ellie… it’s on me.”  He wiped at his eye. “Mike was killed because of me.” 

 

“No, Kalio, no…”

 

He looked defeated.  “I’ll see you tomorrow Ellie.”  He pushed into his apartment after that.  Ellie took a couple steps to go after him, only to hear the click of a lock stopping her mid-step.

 

She dropped her arms in sad frustration and sighed.  She got more out of him this time, but with that final confession, she was sure Five-0’s hunch it was him was way off base.  There was no way it was Kalio, even if he knew something they didn’t.

 

Her drive home was a confusing one, and she circled around her block three times, just to drive.  The sky turned darker and darker, mirroring her mood. She was upset and frustrated and confused. She pulled over in a random parking lot and did what her father taught her to do just as the clouds opened up and it rained sudden and hard.

 

For the first time since Mike was killed, she cried.  Cried to heart’s content, until there wasn’t anything left.  Cried for her father, for John, for Mike. For herself. 

 

Just as the worst of it passed, already feeling a little better, she got a phone call.  She sniffed and answered it without looking at it.

 

“Clayton.”

 

_ “Ellie, hey, it’s Steve.  Can you come to HQ?”  _

 

~

 

Danny greeted her at the elevator, something about relieving the nanny for the evening. 

 

“Any hints about what this is about?” 

 

He bit his lip and let out a sigh.  “Talk to Steve.”

 

Steve was standing at the computer table with Kono and Jerry when she walked into the bullpen.  There were photos up on the screens, but Steve noticed her and she didn’t get a good look at them before he swiped them away.

 

“Working late?” 

 

“Hey, Ellie,” Steve greeted.  “Want to tell me what you and Kalio were talking about this afternoon?” 

 

She paused.  “Are you having  _ me _ watched?” 

 

“No, but we are having Kalio watched, and you showed up at his apartment, and reports said that things looked heated between you two.” 

 

“Someone we both cared about was killed.  We’re both emotional right now.”

 

“Ellie…”

 

“He didn’t do it,” she said.

 

“I know what you believe, but Ellie…” He took a deep breath.  “Jerry show her.” 

 

Jerry tapped the table a few times and one of the photos popped back up on the screen.  It was the scene from earlier, when Kalio was outside with the three men. 

 

“Do you know who these men are?” 

 

“No,” she shook her head.  “Should I?” 

 

Steve shared a look with Jerry, and Jerry tapped the table again.  Two police reports complete with headshots popped up. A Jimmy Konya and a-

 

“Rob Moriyama,” Ellie said under her breath.  “That’s where I knew him from.”

 

“So you do know these guys?” Steve asked.

 

“Just Moriyama.  I worked a case years ago where he was put away for aggravated assault.”  Her stomach dropped. “He had Yakuza ties.” 

 

Steve nodded.  “So does Konya.  What do you bet our mystery third guy does too.  Want to tell me why your foster-brother was talking to known Yakuza men?” 

 

Ellie said nothing.  She was at a loss.

 

“So, you want to tell us what you talked about?” 

 

Ellie sighed, sitting her purse down on the table, and slouched.  She couldn’t believe it. It had to be a mistake, some kind of misunderstanding.  She shook her head.

 

“Ellie,” Kono started softly.  “You’re a prosecutor. You know how this looks.” 

 

She nodded.  “I know.” 

 

“Then help us out,” Steve said.  “Help your brother out, before he gets in more trouble.” 

 

She ran her fingers along her scalp, and pulled at the clip holding her hair up.  Then she rubbed at her eyes and sighed again. She told them everything. How she waited in the car, how sincere he sounded, how he cried.

 

“He said he thought it was over when Michael Noshimuri went to prison,” she said, eyes on Kono.

 

Kono’s face went white.  

 

“‘Noshimuri?’” she asked for clarification. 

 

She nodded, “I remember, because of you…”

 

“Right.”

 

“This is probably a stupid question, but is there relation?” 

 

Kono sighed and then nodded.  “He was Adam’s brother.”

 

“‘Was?’”

 

“He died several years ago.”

 

Ellie frustratedly sighed, “so much for that lead.”

 

“I don’t know…” Steve mused.  Then he turned to Kono, “Do you think Adam would know anything from back then?” 

 

Kono looked pained.  Ellie picked up that it would be a sore subject matter for Kono.  

 

“I can ask him.”

 

“Good.”  Then he turned to Ellie, “I’m sorry to involve you like this, Ellie.”

 

“It’s okay,” she said, wanting nothing more than to go home and lay in bed and pull the covers up over her head.

 

“Want to get a drink?” Steve asked.

 

She shook her head.  “I want to go home.”

 

~  
January 10th  
~

 

_ Ring _

 

_ Ring _

 

_ Ring _

 

That was the second call she ignored.  She had spent most of the morning in bed, ignoring the world.  If it rang again, she’d try to act like a person and answer. She had nothing to do; the funeral arrangements done yesterday, but she was not the type to lay in bed all day.  She didn’t know how she was going to face Kalio after yesterday at Five-0.

 

_ Ring _

 

Crap.

 

She rolled over and grabbed the phone only to see that it was a different McGarrett than she expected.

 

“Hello?”

 

_ “Ellie, hi, it’s Mary.” _

 

“Hi, Mary.”

 

_ “Do you think you can meet me across from the gym?” _

 

“Why?”

 

_ “I think I might have a lead.”  _


	4. Chapter Four

~~~  
Mary, before Joan  
~~~

 

She remembered being at Steve’s graduation from the Academy sitting between Aunt Deb and an empty seat and seeing Steve’s disappointment that it was empty thinking “he and I are a couple of orphans, aren’t we?” 

 

Two years later, when it was her turn to walk across a stage and feel the overwhelming disappointment an empty char could bring, she couldn’t understand why Steve defended the man.  She screamed and he yelled and looking back, they were taking their disappointment out on each other, but that didn’t make the next twenty years full of not talking easier to stomach.

 

Mary did not go to college.  John had saved up for her to go, apparently, and when he found out she didn’t even apply, that was a big fight over the phone that ended with John guiltily signing over the small nest egg over to Mary to do whatever she wanted.

 

She was eighteen.  He no longer decided what she did and where she went.  She decided that now.

 

Mary’s idea of a secondary education came in the form of travel.  She took the money her father had sat aside for her to go to college and she went abroad instead, as a spite or a hurt or the only way she could say “you don’t control my life anymore.”  The world was her classroom, as cliche as that was. Did the lower forty-eight and Mexico roadtrip her freshman year, Europe her sophomore, got lost a bit in South America her junior year, then Asia for her senior year, but the weather and the food reminded her too much of home.

 

(Once, she’d find out much later, she and Steve were in the same town at the same time - her a tourist, him a sailor - and they never knew it because they didn’t talk other than to say “Happy Birthday” once a year to one another.) 

When she felt her education was over, she helped Aunt Deb move out to California and tried that life out for a little while, but found the surfing and palm trees and flip flops reminded her of a home she hadn’t been to since she was ten years old.

She ran back to the comfort of New York City and settled in its streets like it was an old coat.

Hawaii was literally half a world away, where it should be, and New York needed all sorts of talent, and  _ she just had to find out what hers was. _

There were lots of odd jobs on her way to figuring that out.  Retail, fast food, a brief hotel management position. A library file clerk.  A subway token monitor. A Broadway stage hand. A secretary for a family doctor’s office.  A medical coding transcriptionist. A ferry monitor. A Statue of Liberty tour guide. A makeup artist.  A boom mic operator. A high school lunch lady. A certificate in substitute teaching, even if she hated every minute it made her think about her mom.  A dog walker. A hot dog stand employee. A giant foam ball asking people to check out the new multi story golf range on the river. An usher at a movie theater.   A taxi driver (this one would stick for awhile, and make a comeback when Uber showed up in the world.) A photographer (so would this one, even if she didn’t realize how.)  And waitress. 

Sometimes one at a time, others happened simultaneously.  Her eclectic resume would help her later in life, but for the time being all she got from her family was judgment.  She had a handful of roommates, from lively to dangerous to boring. None stuck, but she managed to hang on to the same apartment for years.

Travel was a priority for her.  Travel and good music and, after a brief kidnapping over her father’s tool box later in life, kickboxing classes.  She enjoyed the steady few months of a job and new people and new experiences, a huge vacation somewhere new, come home, start a new job and start saving for the next trip.  Steve would voice his disdain for this type of life on the rare holiday he’d call.

(Like he was one to talk, Mr.  _ “Where are you this week?” “That’s not funny.” “You’ve got a new job each time I call you!” “New York is expensive!” “Which needs something stable which means raises and surety.”  “It doesn’t matter… Where are you?” “I don’t know if I can tell you, actually.” “Well then stop bugging me about where I am in life if you can’t tell me where you are, alright?” _ )

And then her father was killed.

New York City was harder after going home.  She had reconnected with Steve, with Mamo, with Ona, with the beach she grew up on, with the world she didn’t realize she missed so much.  But Steve insisted it wasn’t safe, and it felt like getting sent away all over again, except this time she was alone on the plane. She had a few more odd jobs.  Flight attendant. Cab driver again. Waitressing. Again. End of life care provider. 

Then her mother came back to life.

It’s not like you can google that one and find some cheap advice on how to deal.

That was when she met Eli.  Eli was a trainer at her gym.  “Part time,” he insisted, but she always saw him there.  She was already going steady with kickboxing at that point, but Eli introduced her to self-defense and a little martial arts.  They were easy friends, and the tougher fighting styles helped her work through some things like therapy.

Eli had served in the military briefly, and discharged for reasons she still, to this day, hadn’t gotten out of him, and she valued their friendship too much to go snooping for herself.  She didn’t even know which branch he served in. After serving, the man traveled the world on the - and this is the truth - the MMA circuit. He fought himself around the world, working through something that still haunted his edges from time to time.

Eli changed Mary’s life.  

It just so happened that Eli was looking for a new place around the same time Mary’s roommate was getting married and like that, they were roommates.  It was after that that Eli’s other job became Mary’s whole world.

Eli was a Private Investigator.  

It wasn’t that big of a deal, but it started as a favor.  Another PI at his firm she had met once approached her at her restaurant and asked her to keep track one of her daily patrons every day for a week in exchange for  _ a ‘generous tip. _ ’ 

She did it, mostly because rent was  _ eating her entire income _ , and because the patron (“mark” she’d tell herself) was rude to one of the other waitresses the day before.  She kept track of his comings and goings, reported on it via text message every time. On day one she had figured out he worked for the software firm across the street and that he was working on a big project that was making him stressed out.  On day two she had figured out that the big project had something to do with a military drone and that he was showing signs of paranoia. On the the third day he came in and drank coffee and dabbed at sweat on his forehead and left her an overly generous tip and it worried her just enough that she took the afternoon off and followed him.

And followed him.  All the way into New Jersey. 

She realized he was dropping off some kind of envelope and she grabbed the camera from her old photography job she was thinking about taking up again and snapped photos.

A facial ID ended up being the break the PI Firm needed to turn everything into State’s Evidence for Conspiracy against the guy.  Eli was livid, but mostly because she didn’t call him and invite him along.

Two days later she was working as an intern for a prestigious Investigation Firm, while she studied and took her exam for her PI license.  Eli, once again, taught her everything he knew and like that

Mary knew what her talent was.

It sat heavy in her stomach, somewhere where her feelings about her father lived, that her talent was investigative work, but whatever.  Her father was a detective, her brother was special ops, her mother was a spy. She could be a P.I., screw them.

~~~  
Mary - January 10th, 2016  
~~~

Mary saw Ellie looking around the road before Eli did.  Ellie was wearing jean shorts and an open camp shirt looking like any one of the dozen friends Mary had back in New York.  It rumbled in her stomach that they could be friends, and hated that John sat in the middle of it. She pulled out her phone and called her.

_ “Mary,” _ she saw Ellie say.   _ “Where are you?”  _

“Tan Sedan, three down, you’re looking right at me.”

Ellie hung up and made her way to Eli’s rental car and let herself into the back seat.

“What lead?” she asked immediately.  “Why aren’t you going to Steve?” 

“Steve thinks this is the Yakuza, and when it involves the Yakuza, Steve gets laser focused on them.”

“He might not be wrong,” Eli said.  Mary gave him a look.

“Who are you?” Ellie asked.

Eli turned around in his driver’s seat, flipping his chin length hair as he did it, and held out a hand, “Eli McGregor.  Nice to meet ya’.” Eli always put on the southern drawl when he was talking to a pretty girl and Mary rolled her eyes pretty spectacularly. 

“Hi.” 

“Eli’s a Private Investigator,” Mary told Ellie.

“A P.I., Mary?  What are you thinking?  This is an open investigation!”

“That’s what I told her.”

“So why are you here?” 

“She has a tab,” he shrugged.

Mary rolled her eyes again.  “You know the bootprint?”

“Yeah, the one that’s a dead end lead?” 

“Yeah,” Mary said.  “Not so much.” She pulled out a folder and pulled out a picture of what was clearly the bootprint.

“Where’d you get that?” Ellie asked instantly.

“That doesn’t matter,” she waved it off.

“Mary, I am an assistant D.A.!  How’d you get that?” 

“She’s an assistant DA.?” Eli asked her, frustration on her face.

She eyed Eli down, daring him to push it further.  He sighed dramatically. 

“It fell off a truck,” she said, not taking her eyes off Eli until he turned and sat facing forward.  “Tell her what you told me.”

“The boot is Russian made, sold in Moscow.” 

“You know that from the print?” 

“It’s a very distinctive boot.”

Mary huffed.  Eli was well traveled, saw all types in his life, she knew not to question when he knew some random piece of information; his memory had broken more than their fair share of cases. 

“The killer is Russian,” Mary told her.

“If that’s footprint is his!” Ellie argued.  “Steve said-”

“Look at the alley, Ellie,” Mary said, pointing towards the gym.  “I’ve been here for three hours, and Eli was here all morning while I was working.  Do you know how many people have walked down that alley in that time?”

“A few?” Ellie asked.

“Zero,” Eli exaggerated the word, holding up an ‘o’ made out of his fingers.  “CSI said that it was as fresh a print as Mary’s. It’s our guy’s.” 

“‘Russian,’” Ellie repeated.

Mary grinned, she was believing it.

“Now, Ellie, it’s been five days, and Five-0’s record is usually better than that.”

“I know, it’s worried me.”

“I got a contact at immigration that owes me a favor,” Mary told her.  “She’s sending me a list of Russian Nationals that flew into Hawaii early this week.”

“Why don’t you go to Steve with this?”

Mary and Eli shared a look.  She knew Eli felt the same way.  But it was more than that… she…

“She’s got big brother issues,” Eli said, sniffing.

She smacked him on the arm as soon as he said it.

“What?  You know I’m right.”

“What?” 

“Miss Mary quite contrary here hasn’t told her big brother that she’s a P.I. yet.”

Mary groaned and threw her head up to the ceiling of the car.

“You’re both P.I.’s?” Ellie asked, shocked.  Then there was a beat of silence. “Why wouldn’t you tell Steve that?” 

“Because Steve is a judgemental jerk, okay?”

Eli adjusted in his seat, to face Ellie, “she wants to prove she can do the job in order to win some kind of approval from Steve.”  Then quieter, like he meant it to be shared with only Ellie, and not like Mary was sitting two feet away. “I personally think she’s substituting Steve’s approval with her father’s approval, but I keep telling her, she’s never going to get her father’s approval, so she should just focus on her relationship with her brother as separate from their relationship with their father.”

She smacked his arm again, “what are you, my partner or my therapist?” 

He looked up at her with innocent eyes, “sometimes I’m both.”

Mary rolled her eyes.

“Are you licensed in Hawaii?” Ellie asked.

“No.”

“Mary!  That’s illegal!” 

It was Mary’s turn to turn in her seat.  “Technically we can work around that law.”

“What are you talking about?” 

“Hire Eli from his firm back in New York.  He can work anywhere as long as his contract is through the state he’s licensed with.”

“If it’ll help, I’ll do it pro-bono,” he said with a flirty grin.  Mary smacked him again. “What?” 

She threw a thumb at Ellie, “client.”

“Not yet, she ain’t.”

“Mary, you don’t still work at this firm, it’s still illegal.”

“He’ll be using me as a local contact.  That’s legal.”

She watched as Ellie ran her hands through her hair.  “Okay, fine. But the first bit of  _ real  _ evidence, not just  _ feelings _ and  _ distinctive boots _ we take it to Steve.”

“Done,” Eli agreed before Mary could argue.

“But-”

“Done,” he insisted with the look on his face that said ‘I’m older and more experienced in this than you, follow my lead.’  They were supposed to be partners, but that look hadn’t come out a whole lot lately. “Mary, this is a  _ murder _ investigation.”

“We’ve done murder investigations before.”

“Sure, cold cases and evidence piling for prosecution, not this.  This is different.”

Mary hated it, but agreed.  “Okay.”

“So what’s next?” Ellie asked.

“Let’s get you a contract.  We can’t do anything until we get a list of names from my guy.”

“Then I got another contact that works organized crime for the FBI.” Eli sniffed.  “I’ll give her a call in the morning, see if she recognizes any of the names.”

“I thought we were off organized crime?” Ellie asked.

“Well,” Eli paused, then he nodded towards Mary.  “It’s Mary’s theory.”

She took her cue.  “I think Mike kept something from his time when the Yakuza was using his gym.”

“How’d you know about that?”

Mary bit her tongue.  She didn’t want to get Steve in trouble for talking about an open case.  He was only talking to her because she was invested, but he didn’t know just how invested she really was.

“Fell off a truck?” she tried.

Ellie rolled her eyes.  

“What?” Mary asked innocently.

“P.I.s,” Ellie sighed, like it explained everything.

Mary and Eli shared another look.  She supposed it did, in a way.

“Anyway, whatever it was that Mike had and his killer wanted, I think Mike had something.  Blackmail, insurance, photographs, I don’t know, but whatever it was, the Russian mob can use it against the Yakuza.”

“That’s a lot of fiction, Mary.”

She shrugged; she knew that right now it was just a story.  “Whatever Mike had, it was enough to kill him over. We have no idea.  So unless you do… let’s follow a lead the cops aren’t following. Just in case.” 

 

~~~   
Ellie - before she met Steve   
~~~

“Another house won’t be so bad, Ellie,” he told her as she packed up what few things she had left to her name.  

“It’ll be my fourth home in a year, John,” she shot back, angry and stuffing clothes in her bag.  

“Maybe this’ll be the last one!” he said hopefully.

“I’m sixteen,” she practically growled. “I’m alone.”

“No you’re not.” 

She rolled her eyes.  Right. Because he’s so there for her, right?  She huffed, clothes in each hand, turning to face him.  “Why can’t you be my foster-father?” 

His face fell. “Ellie…” 

She threw her clothes down, wanting to give this her whole attention.  She had given it a lot of thought. “Seriously. Why can’t you? You say anything I need… well I need a home!” 

“I can’t even have my own daughter living with me.  It’s too…” He avoided her eyeline for a moment. “...I just can’t.” 

“Whatever,” she spat.  Just another let down. 

“Ellie…” 

With another huff she slammed the dresser drawer and, before she could react, her jewelry box fell off the top and smashed to the floor, the lid coming off with a loud ‘CRACK.’  

“Shit!” 

They both dropped to the floor instantly, trying to gather everything up.  It wasn’t like it was a nice jewelry box - it was just a plastic case - but it had a latch, and it wasn’t like she had any nice jewelry really - she just liked having it, knowing she wasn’t going to lose anything.  Excess jewelry was a nice comfort item that many kids in the system just didn’t have. 

Palming two pairs of earrings - the third and final pair she owned on her ears now - she sat back, disappointed.  She really didn’t want to move houses again. Another new school was going to reek havoc on her GPA. 

“Did you really have to squeal on him?” she asked, fighting frustrated tears.  The very last thing she wanted to do right then was cry.

“He was dangerous, Ellie.”  He gently placed a necklace into the bottom of the broken box.  “He had no business being a foster-father.” 

“It was just a few pictures,” she argued.

“Of children,” he said finally, reaching for her shoulder.  “I couldn’t let you be anywhere near that. I couldn’t let any kid.” 

She stared at him.  He was right. She hated that he was right.  “I know,” she said, finally. 

Child pornography was a serious crime, and ever since the truth came out she had wondered if he had taken any of those photos, if any of his previous foster-children had been subjects.  Ellie wasn’t the only one in the house. She had a younger foster-brother who had been there longer than she had. CPS took him this morning. Ellie had only just gotten home from school, and John was waiting for her.

“I’m not going to let anything happen to you,” he told her.  “I’m sorry I can’t take you in. But I will do everything I can to make sure you’re safe.”

“You taking me in would mean I wouldn’t be safe?” she asked.

He looked down, like he was trying to figure out how to answer.  “Yeah.” Then he looked back up at her. “I wish I could do more.”

“Yeah,” she said.  And because she was angry - at John, at the system, at her stupid pedophile foster-father - she spat out the next two words.  “Me too.” 

He couldn’t take her in, but he kept his promise to be there for her.  He bought her a new jewelry box for Christmas - one Ellie still used to this day - a nice, wooden box with velvet lining.  He taught her how to change a tire, how to make chicken teriyaki, how to apply for college. He even floated her a small loan for those applications - a loan he never asked her back for.  She paid it in back several years later in pancake breakfasts. 

He came to her high school graduation, clapped proudly alongside Mike and Nani.  He took her to the airport when she left for Stanford. He sent her care packages from time to time - usually on the anniversary of her father’s death, he called her every year she was in college on the date.  Between Mike and John, she had voracious cheerleaders all through law school. John was there when she walked through the airport, excited she chose Honolulu as her home, where she wanted to take the BAR, where she wanted to work.

His recommendation got her her first job at the DA's office.  

John was killed the same day Nani finally succumbed to cancer.  It was rough time in Ellie’s life, losing two parental figures like that.  It didn’t help that John was shot and killed. 

She remembered seeing Steve, full dress blues, saluting and taking his father’s flag.  She remembered wanting to introduce herself, but caught him looking angry and fighting tears in his car and thought better of it.  She didn’t want to pile on.

It was confusing being angry while grieving.  John was such a strong presence in her life, without doing the same for his own children.  Steve didn’t need that confusion. It would be a confusion Ellie would struggle with whenever she thought about John, land later when she struck up a friendship with Steve.  

Hearing about Five-0, and watching the cases they’d close filter across her desk one after another, impressive and overwhelming, she always meant to introduce herself; she just never got around to it.

Then, of course, she met Steve, and the rest is mostly history.

~~~   
Ellie - January 11th, 2016   
~~~

Leaving her office after requesting time off, Ellie pulled the clip out of her hair and decided to go surfing.  Mike taught her how, after all. It only seemed right. The wake would be that afternoon, she had time.

Heading to Waikiki, it was crowded and full of tourists escaping colder weather this time of year, but that’s how she liked it.  She could disappear among a crowd. Renting a beach locker, she stashed her things, waxed up her board, and she was off. Paddling out, she passed the belly surfers, the ones looking for an easy thrill, then she passed the more experienced surfers but still stayed close to the shore, then she was out in open water with the seasoned surfers.  They paid her no mind as she turned her board to face the shore and went about redoing her hair bun.

It wasn’t the sunniest of days, she could see a rain cloud coming from over the valley, but figured she could catch a few waves before it was a big problem.

Besides, what was a little rain shower going to hurt?

Enjoying her morning, and the workout it gave her, was just what the doctor ordered.  With the gym closed, she hadn’t been able to work out. Not that she had been much in the mood to work out.  

She hoped hiring Mary and Eli was the right thing to do.  Going behind Steve’s back felt wrong, but Mary was right: Steve was too focused on Kalio and the Yakuza to look for any new leads.  He had his own daddy issues clouding his judgment. And mommy-issues. Steve had issues. Mary had issues. Ellie definitely had issues.

There was a little poke in her side whenever she thought of Mary.  She didn’t want to be a stand-in, and suddenly every interaction with John McGarrett was shadowed by the idea.   She was being used. She had a decent friendship with John, she could only imagine the hurt that Mary was dealing with.  Steve wanted them to be friends, but Ellie didn’t know; it would have to be up to Mary. That feeling of being a stand-in shaded her friendship with Steve a little, but it was different with Mary.  They were both girls, both the same age… John did a whole bunch of things with her that he  _ should have been doing with Mary. _  How Mary would get through that, she didn’t know.

One thing’s for sure, if Mary wanted to be friends they really needed to do that support group thing.

The dress she wore to the wake was simple, and the crowd was full of gym goers and former foster kids.  Ellie recognized a few of them, introduced herself to a lot more. Mike and Nani fostered over thirty kids in their time as foster parents, Ellie counted herself lucky to be among them.  Mary and Eli sat respectfully in the back, and left after a short nod as soon as the ceremony was over. Five-0 showed up at the wake in the parlor of the funeral home.

“How are you doing?” Kono asked.

“Good,” Ellie said.  “Considering. Everyone seems to think I should take care of the lawyers, being a lawyer.”

“Well, you would be who I’d go to,” Danny told her.

She smiled at him, then Kalio walked by, face falling at noticing Five-0, he shared a sad look with Ellie, and kept on walking, pushing through the crowd.

Ellie took the awkward moment to pull them a few steps into an empty room, away from the rest of the guests.  

She sighed, “Anything new, case-wise?” 

Steve puffed out his cheeks with a sigh, looking Kono’s way.

“Adam remembers rumors about a gym that had a log of comings and goings,” Kono admitted.  “Rumors about a journal kept of anything and everything witnessed and overheard. When Michael went to prison, the rumors died down.”

“You think that’s what was in the drawer?” Ellie asked.  “A journal? That kind of smoking gun could open dozens of cases.  Information on who knows how many Yakuza guys.”

Steve nodded.  They all looked grim, several of them shot eyes towards Kono.

“Oh,” Ellie said, realizing.  “You think there could be something on Adam in it?” 

Kono shrugged, “He doesn’t think so, but he can’t be sure.  He knows Michael went to Mike’s, back in the day.” 

“Oh, Kono, I’m so sorry.”

She shrugged it off.  “I know who I married.” 

“For what it’s worth, Ellie, Adam didn’t recognize Kalio,” Steve told her.

She nodded, feeling a tiny bit of relief on her shoulders.  She had been carrying so much weight this last week. “That’s worth a lot.”

“I think,” Steve started, “If this journal theory is right, then he was keeping it as insurance.  To keep the Yakuza away from his foster-kids. Kalio probably wasn’t the only kid they put pressure on.”  

Ellie nodded, happy that it sounded like Steve was letting up on Kalio.

Later, after all the funeral goers had gone home, and plans made for friends and family to release his ashes at sea later in the week made, Ellie didn’t want to go home.  Instead, she made her way to Aces High, her father’s bar.

It had stayed empty for over two decades, but she carried the keys to the place on her key ring.  A small connection to her father that she carried with her wherever she went. She unlocked the door and pushed her way in.  It was musty, but clean. 

“Hi, daddy,” she said, gently into the room.  She wiped at her eye, already watering. “I’ve had a bad day.” 

Making her way over to the jukebox, she leaned over and plugged it in.  With a sigh and another wipe at her eye, she picked a song… the last song she and her father danced to.

The familiar opening notes of “My Girl” echoed through the empty bar.

_ “I’ve got sunshiiiine…” _ David Ruffin sang,  _ “...on a cloudy day…” _

Ellie pushed herself away from the jukebox and twirled a little, letting the memory of that final dance wash over her.  Her abandoned homework on the bar, the way her father’s hand felt as he spun her under his arm. She was sliding down the wall of the bar before the end of the first chorus, and did what her dad taught her.

She cried.

She cried for the whole song, letting all the feelings and emotions out.  Her father’s investigation stirred up bad memories about her father’s gambling history, and how he worked hard to get Jordan off the street.  Now Mike’s investigation bringing up all this stuff with the Yakuza and how maybe Mike wasn’t as great a guy as she was remembering… Not to mention every memory about John McGarrett was adjusting to adding the shape of Mary to the equation.  

_ “Let yourself feel it, baby,”  _ her father’s voice in her head.   _ “Don’t bottle it up.” _

When the song started to fade away, she wiped at her face and took a deep, steadying breath.  Then pulled out her phone and dialed Mary.

_ “Hello?” _

“It’s not too late, is it?”

_ “No, what’s up?” _

“I have some information for you.”

_ “Oh?” _

“Yeah,” she said, sniffing, and wiping at her nose.  “It fell off a truck.”


	5. Chapter Five

~~~   
Mary   
~~~

She met Joan on a Thursday.  

Of course, Joan was ‘Jane Doe’ when Mary met her.  A tiny little thing left at a police station, and, as the state was known to do from time to time, CPS hired Mary’s firm to do an investigation.  The firm did public work occasionally, usually to smooth feathers with NYPD from the fallout of some of their higher profile cases. Mary was a newbie.  Mary got the cases that went nowhere and were of little to no consequence. She got to smooth feathers.

Like all abandoned children, CPS had to look into the circumstances and try to find any family, and little Miss Jane Doe was no different.  Overwhelmed with their caseload, CPS jumped at any pro-bono help. Instead, they got Mary.

She was so tiny.  That was Mary’s first impression.  Mary didn’t hold her, only met with her nurse and took a statement.  She took a simple photo of the baby with her phone - probably her first photo - to put in the firm’s files.  She went to the police station (where she was met with expected disdain and high noses from the officers) and took more statements, watched some security footage, got copies, and left.

Whoever left her was a young woman, hoodie drawn up around her head.  Mary had a good enough shot at her full figure to guess that she was ‘Jane Doe’s’ mother, but nothing to prove it.  She did a weeks worth of due diligence, following the woman on various security cameras from the direction she came and the direction she went.  It was boring work, and not at all glamorous like she pictured when she first took the job.

“Gotta put in your hours, darlin’,” Eli would tell her every evening, home after a day spent fastforwarding videotape after videotape, and then stalking the next block’s worth of security cameras and begging store owners for copies.  

It was a case with a single lead that was currently leading her towards the subway, and when she got there, the lead would be a dead end.

She went to sleep every night looking at the picture of the baby on her phone, daring herself to do something about it.

She was twenty-nine.  Maybe it was time. There, in the back of her mind, 30 was important and needed to be important. Some kind of hallmark.

It didn’t help that her mother had gone awol again the day before she caught the case.  There was that half a phone call that Mary didn’t really pay attention to, where she called to say she loved her and Mary was busy with work and looking back she was calling to say goodbye.

How many times would that happen to Mary?  A moment where she wasn’t paying enough attention and didn’t get to say goodbye properly?  Whatever. She didn’t need a mother. She was doing just fine. Go off to fight secret wars and play James Bond and don’t give two shits about your kids, it’s okay.  It’s cool. It’s wonderful. Leave. So it turns out Mary has mommy-issues; great!

At least Doris didn’t fake her death this time.  Progress.

But the sting of it all was heavy on her mind every time she thought about this baby girl abandoned by her mother.  The one person that was supposed to stick around and love and care for her. At least her father tried. At least he didn’t just give up like Doris did.  Retrospect and uncovering the truth did a lot for how she looked at her father. Didn’t excuse what he did to her and Steve, but it made a kind of messed up sense.

Comparing John to modern-day Doris did a lot for how she looked at her father, too.

When she turned her completed file over to CPS two weeks later, screenshots of the woman along her trek towards the subway, and a few notes of Mary’s observation making it thick, she couldn’t help but ask

“So what’ll happen to her?”

“She’ll be put in the system, ward of the state.”

“Oh,” Mary said, pushing up on her toes.  She lingered at the case worker’s desk for a moment, obviously annoying the woman with her sudden bravado.  “What would it take to adopt her?”

“Excuse me?” 

Mary shrugged again.  “Adopt her. I’d like to adopt her.”

“You haven’t spent any time with her,” the caseworker told her, sounding skeptical. 

“Is that what it takes?”

“...usually.”

“Alright, how do I do that?”

A few months later, and in a fury against Doris, she wrote “J-o-a-n” on a change of name notice.  Her father didn’t deserve it, but… maybe he did.

“It won’t get you his approval, you know,” Eli told her over her shoulder.

“Shut up,” she replied, blowing on it to dry the ink.

He was right, John didn’t care.  John was dead. But maybe it was just a reminder for Mary every time she said her daughter’s name: to be better.

~~~   
Mary - January 12th, 2016   
~~~

They had half a dozen headshots printed out on the dining room table, and how exactly was she supposed to explain that to her roommate if he walked in on them?

_ “Hi, this is my friend Eli, and these are six Russian nationals who’ve entered the country in the last week that have criminal pasts, by the way it’s your turn to take out the trash.” _

Sounded good to her.

As much as she wanted to stay with Eli and investigate which ones were  _ on Oahu _ she still had a day job.  The licensing test for her P.I. license was several months off, and even then it’d be awhile before she’d have steady work.   She was certainly not going to quit her day job, not yet.

Eli had planned to follow her this spring, after his contract with the firm was up, and it would be another three months before he could take the test, and that wasn’t even including what it would take to get their own firm off the ground.

( _ “‘McGarrett and McGregor’ sounds pretty badass.” “Why is McGarrett going first again?  I’m older and have more experience.” “We’ve talked about this, the name ‘McGarrett’ carries weight on the islands in more ways than one.  It’s business, not vanity.” “Sure it is.”) _

There was lots to do on their checklist to their dream job, including telling her brother.  But that wasn’t going to be today. Today she had to work until midnight. She rushed herself into her waitressing uniform as Eli and Joan sat on the floor playing ‘go fish’ on the coffee table. 

“So this FBI woman,” Mary perked up around the corner, fiddling with her hair.  “She a friend? Or is she a,” she dropped her voice and shook her hips a little, “friend?” 

“Can a woman not be both?” 

“Mommy said ‘friend’ twice.” Joan looked confused.

“Yup,” Eli said, staring at her, awkward.  “She did.”

“Did you date the FBI lady?” Joan asked.

Mary smiled as Eli puffed out his cheeks and turned towards Mary.  “She’s too smart, what do I do?” 

Mary shrugged, “like I know.”  Then she leaned down and kissed Joan on the head.  “Beat him for me.” Then to Eli, “let me know if you find out anything.”

“Will do,” he sing-songed.  Then, as she passed him, “Hey where’s my kiss?” 

She grabbed her purse off the coat stand, “Joan, baby, cover your eyes.”  She waited for Joan to do as she was told to start to blow Eli a kiss, only to end it with flipping him the bird.  Eli rolled his eyes. “Okay baby, you can uncover ‘em.”

Joan did as she was told and giggled.  “She held up the middle finger, didn’t she?” 

Mary’s mouth fell open.  “He’s right, you’re too smart.  Keep it up, baby. Thanks for watching her again, everything is still so new.”

He waved her off as she opened the door.  His focus was on Joan. “How do you know what that means?” Eli interrogated.  Mary left the house laughing.

~

The last thing she expected was for one of the men from those headshots on the dining room table to show up in her diner just after evening rush.  This was a local haunt, and the man was anything but local. Born and raised in Moscow, she had read his rap-sheet. 

Luck was not in her favor, he and his friend were sitting in a different section.  She kept an eye on them.

She snuck off to the bathroom to call Eli, and ten minutes later Eli had made himself a seat in her section, with a clear view of the guy.

Milos Kozlov.  Mary remembered that, and where he was from.  She hadn’t had time to study their profiles closer, but Eli confirmed.  He was one of the guys.

Didn’t mean he was  _ their guy _ of course it didn’t.

Until ten minutes after that when two Japanese men walked in with a duffle bag each and sat down in the booth next to them.  There was a tense second before Kozlov’s friend, and one of the Japanese men stood, measured each other up, and then switched seats.  Seems they were here to talk.

“I think it’s time to call your brother,” Eli told her as she pretended to give him another refill. 

“Why?  They haven’t done anything wrong, yet.”

“Yeah,” he agreed.  “‘Yet.’”

She let out a breath and walked over to Linda, the other waitress working the section this was going down in, “why don’t you take a second, get off your feet for a bit.  I’ll do a coffee run in your station.”

“Oh, that’s sweet Mary, thank you.”

Mary ignored Eli’s shaking of the head as she made her way to the section’s two or three other tables that had patrons in it.  “Coffee?” she asked softly, as she tried to focus more on the conversation.

She heard bits and pieces:

_ “...the money.  When…” _

_ “...heat from… ...tomorrow we get on plane…” _

_ “...this has been a big… ...good to clean house…” _

And then, Chekhov's gun itself: Kozlov reached in his blazer and pulled out a small, leather bound, brown journal.

Mary shot a look to Eli.  He shook his head again. She made her way to their table.

“Coffee?” she asked, cool as a cucumber.  

Glancing at the journal, she saw the logo for the gym stamped into the leather.  These were their guys, for sure.

Kozlov pushed his cup towards her, asking for a refill.  So he wasn’t planning on going anywhere anytime soon. Good.

Keeping up with her cover, she turned to their friends behind her; they both waved her off.  She gave a sweet smile, and made her way back to the bathroom, phone already in her hand. She trusted Eli enough to keep an eye on them, take photographs, whatever he knew he could get away with.

She swallowed the anticipation of the conversation that would follow in order to call up Steve.

_ Ring _

_ Ring _

Oh, come on Steven, pick up the dam-

_ “Mary?  Everything okay?” _

“No.  Mike Jones’ killer is sitting at a booth in Wailana Diner as we speak.”

_ “How do you know?” _

“He’s got the journal.  We can talk more later, just get here.” 

It was a blur after that.  Three patrol cars, Danny’s camaro, and Lou’s suburban all pulled up quickly to the front of the diner.  It was almost comical as all four of them stood quickly at the invasion. They were all focused on finding a backway out, and rushed toward the kitchens.  Eli tripped one of them as they passed his table, causing another to trip over his buddy falling. One of the Russians knocked over Linda carrying a tray of food, causing a pause in his getaway, but Kozlov, already re-pocketing the journal, pushed around him easily.

Mary was ready for him as he made his way to the one and only hallway between him and his getaway.  

“Move!” he shouted at her, barreling towards her.  

She stood her ground, and as soon as he was within range, she threw the heel of her hand straight towards his nose, stopping him in his tracks, and forcing him back a few steps.  She felt his nose crack under her palm.

“Bitch!” he cried, covering his nose, blood already down his chin.

“Language,” she chided back.  

He rushed forward again, and this time she met his crotch with her knee.  He fell back at that, and the two self defense moves took enough time for Steve, Danny, Kono, and Lou all to make their way into the diner, guns drawn and zip ties ready.

She looked over to Eli, who was standing up out of his booth.  Apparently his two guys turned on him and he, too, was defending himself until Kono and Lou had guns pointed at them.

He blew her a kiss that ended in a middle finger and she winked at him in return.

“What in the world-” Steve said, on his knees and zip tying Kozlov.

“This man is named Milos Kozlov.  Arrived on Oahu on the third. Look in his left chest pocket, you’ll find what I was talking about.”

Danny had the other Russian in cuffs, looking over Steve’s shoulder as Steve dug around in his front pocket.  He pulled out the journal.

“Would you look at that?” Steve asked.  “Where’d you get this?”

“Is mine,” Kozlov responded.

“It’s stamped with Mike’s Gym, right here, on the back.  We were looking for something like this in connection to a murder.”

“I no know what you are talking about.” 

“Right,” Steve said, with a roll of the eyes.  He pulled Kozlov to his feet. “Let’s chat a little bit, see if we can’t jog that memory.”  He pushed them off to a couple patrol officers.

“Be sure to check his boot print!” Eli called out.  Steve’s eyes shot straight to him, and then back to Mary. 

“McGarrett!” Ona called out from behind the counter.  “What is happening in my diner?” 

“Sorry, Ona.  I need to steal your waitress.”

~

Patrol officers stuck around and took witness statements, but Five-0 took the four criminals back to headquarters, along with Mary and Eli after they dropped the “Private Investigator” bomb on Steve’s feet.  She felt like a kid who got in trouble for fighting and was sent to the principal's office. Steve was still out in the bullpen, giving out orders, obviously avoiding talking to Mary. 

There was a moment, Mary watched through the glass office, when Steve put a hand on Danny’s arm, and the tension between them skyrocketed. It was a short moment with Danny’s hands stiff at his side, hands turning to fists.

“What’s the story there?” Eli asked.

“My brother’s an idiot,” Mary told him.

“Ah.”  Then he pointed up to Steve’s model ship collection.  “He like the Navy or somethin’?”

Mary chuckled.  Eli knew that Steve was a SEAL, but his office was decorated to make sure you knew it, that’s for sure.

Then Steve was in the room with them.

“Okay,” Steve said, pulling a chair around to face them sitting on the couch.  He focused on Mary. “Look, we can have it out later when we’re alone-”

“I’m just going to tell him whatever happens.”

“What?” 

“He’s my Danny.”  She waved her hand between the two of them, “...without all that sexual tension.”

“What?” Steve asked.

“We don’t have sexual tension?” Eli asked, fake affronted.  She gave him a seriously unamused face and he cracked, “nah, we don’t.”

She gave him a stink face for half a second.  “He’s my partner, my therapist, my friend, pain in my ass,” she teased.  She shrugged. “He’s my Danny.” 

Steve gave Eli another once over.  

“Okay, fine,” he said, sighing and wiping his face.  “Skipping over a P.I. investigating an  _ open murder investigation _ and where exactly you got your information… when were you going to tell me?” 

“When we had concrete evidence,” Mary started.  “We had just gotten mug shots of-”

“No, Mare,” Steve said.  “We can talk about that later.”

“Then…”

“Why weren’t you going to tell me you wanted to be a P.I.?” 

“When I passed my license exam in Hawaii.”  That was the truth. She had put it on the business timeline.

“Why wouldn’t you tell me you were training to be a P.I.?”

Mary rolled her eyes, “You’re a cop.  You’d’ve tried to talk me out of it. A million reasons, bro.”  She readjusted in her seat. “Besides. I’m already a P.I.. Just not licensed in Hawaii.” 

“What?” He looked angry.

“Been doing it just over five years.” 

“What?”  He looked angrier.  Then he looked sad, “why wouldn’t you tell me?” 

“You’re judgemental!  You’ve been judgemental of every job I’ve ever had!  Of every choice I’ve ever made!” 

“Well…” Steve stopped himself.  “That- I- You-” He let out a quick sigh.  “This isn’t a job, Mary. This is a career.” 

“Yes, yes it is.” 

“Do you have a job lined up?”

She shared a look with Eli, “when he moves out here, we’re going to open a firm.”

Steve sized Eli up.  Eli met his eye and didn’t flinch.  Whatever Steve found in looking at him, he brushed past it.

“It’s such a dangerous job, Mary.”

“I know.”

“You could get hurt!” 

“I’m aware of that,” she said.  “I wouldn’t let it happen,” Eli said at the same time.  She grinned at him. Steve eyed him up again.

“How come I’ve never met you?” 

“Because you never visited me in New York?” Mary shot back at him before Eli could answer.  “It always had to be me, coming here! How am I supposed to share my life with you, if you don’t want to look at it?” 

“I want to look at it!” Steve shot back, pulling in on himself, defensive.  “Why would you want to do this job, huh? What about Joan?”

“That’s how I found Joan,” Mary told him.  “Or she found me. You never asked where she came from.  It was a job! I investigated an abandoned baby for the state of New York.  It led nowhere and I couldn’t stop staring at her picture the whole time. She was me, only an infant.  I was responsible for finding out where she came from, and I failed her! First thing I did for her, and I failed.”

Eli put a steadying hand on her knee.  Steve licked his lips and sat forward, resting his arm on his own knee, reaching forward to Mary’s hand with the other.  “You didn’t fail. You gave her a home.”

“You know, I expected a good dose of judgment about my career, Steve, but don’t ever judge me not putting Joan first.”

“You’re right,” Steve said. “I’m sorry.”

“...you’re what?” 

“I’m sorry.  You’re a good mom.”

“...thank you.”

“With a seriously dangerous job!”

“Says the the head of Hawaii’s special crime task force.” 

Steve rolled his eyes and wiped his face again.  “Why?” 

“Because you’re judgmental,” she repeated herself.  She knew he could be a brick wall, but damn, Steve. “I was scared of this conversation, that you’d wouldn’t approve or you’d forbid it or something.”

“No no no, why do you want to do this job?”  Then. “‘Forbid it?’ Mary, I’m not dad!”

“Ding ding ding,” Eli said next to her.  Steve eyed him again.

She took a moment to right herself.  

“I can’t stop you from doing something you want to do.  I’m just worried you’re doing it because of… dad or something.”

She pulled in on herself and went directly into defensive mode.  She couldn’t help it, it was like a fight or flight response and she had to hit him where it hurt to get him away from her.

“Oh, like you joining the Navy wasn’t for dad.”

“Yeah,” he said.  “It was.”

She… she couldn’t believe it.  Was Steve McGarrett, her brother, actually talking to her about feelings?  

“Do you… do you regret joining the Navy?”

“No,” he shook his head.  “But it took me a long time to find reasons to be proud of my service that didn’t have to do with approval from dad.” 

Holy shit. Holy shit, he was!  He was talking about feelings! She was so glad she had a witness.

“So why do you want to do the job?” he asked again.

“I get to help people,” she said quietly.  “Like Joan,” her words got caught in her throat, she swallowed down the emotion.  “She’s an extreme example, but… I mean, I serve divorce papers, and subpoenas, but that’s bread and butter.  I also help find lost and missing people. I’ve solved a couple cold murder cases, decades old, that felt so good to help those families find closure.  I like the helping people part. Especially if the system that was supposed to help them failed or turned them away.” 

Steve nodded.

“I like finding more evidence to make sure the really bad guys get put away.  I like finding missing clues that keeps the wrongly accused out of prison. I like helping people.  And I’m good at it.” She scrunched her nose. “I have talent in this. It runs in the family, and it didn’t skip me.  I’m not the black sheep in this family.” 

Steve reached forward again, and grabbed her arm.  “You’ve never been the black-”

“Finish that sentence, I dare you.” 

He nodded, understanding.

“If this is what you want to do,” he started.  “I can’t promise I’ll always be happy about it, but… okay.”

...just like that?

“What?”

“You’re my sister,” he shrugged.  “I want you happy.”

Mary covered her face in an instant.  Some last ditch effort so he wouldn’t see her cry.

“No, no, Mary, it’s okay,” Steve said.  “Don’t hide.” 

She took a deep breath and settled herself.  She wiped at her eyes as she pulled them away from her face.  “Fatherhood has changed you.”

“Good,” he said.  “Lord knows I loved the guy, but I don’t want to be dad.”  Then, “don’t you dare tell Danny I said that.”

Mary let out chuckle.  “You’re an idiot.”

“I know.  But I’m trying to be better for my boys than he was for us.”

“Admirable, but stupid.” 

“Alright,” he said pushing back in his chair.  “How about we see how good you are at this job of yours.  Walk me through what you did, and maybe we can officially say you were consults.” 

Mary grinned. 

“But seriously, where’d you get the picture of the boot print, and how did you know about the journal?” 

“...they fell off a truck?” 

~~~   
Ellie    
~~~

Ellie walked the length of the McGarrett driveway, intent on saying thank you for solving her father’s long, unsolved case.  It was a familiar road; she walked down it plenty of times as a kid. She found Steve McGarrett under an equally familiar car, working away.  She was glad to see the Marquis was still around, and that Steve was taking care of her.

She walked right up to the edge of the car.  “You need a hand?” she asked.

Steve pushed out from underneath it, shielding his eyes from the sun, “Hey!”

“Hey,” she replied. Steve was up from the ground in a hurry.  “I was just on my way to the hospital to see Jordan, but I wanted to stop by first and say thank you.  In person.”

Steve looked touched, “you’re welcome.”

She didn’t quite know what to say next, so she turned to an easy topic, one John used on her all the time.  The car was a nice, easy neutral topic. “So, you having some trouble with your differential?” 

Steve looked at her with a grin and said, “Yeah, yes I am, actually.  I just put new gaskets and seals in, but she’s still running rough.”

What was it John always said?  “Try new bearings and thrust washers, that should fix it.”

Steve looked surprised.  “You know something about cars?”

Ellie chuckled, “not really.  I know a few things about this car, though.  Actually I learned how to drive in this car. Your dad loved it.”

“My dad taught you how to drive?” 

Ellie noded.  “And how to change a tire, and change the oil.  He loved working on this car.”

“Yeah, he sure did,” Steve looked sad, staring at the engine.  She hoped it wasn’t because of something she said. “He did.” Then he seemed to snap out of, “Well, I appreciate the tip.”

“Happy to help,” she replied. 

“Let me ask you a question,” he crossed his arms.  “Do you know how to fix the intake manifold leak? Because that one’s stumped me for years.”

Ellie shook her head, “sorry.  Wish I did.”

“Okay, that’s okay.”  He looked back to the engine, that sad look back on his face again.  “I’ll figure it out one of these days.” 

The look stayed on his face as Ellie studied him a bit longer.  She didn’t know him well enough to ask him about it. Maybe the car wasn’t as a neutral topic with Steve as it was with John.  It held meaning… for both of them. The two of them had so much in common, it be a shame not to be friends, but she suddenly felt like she was invading. 

How dare John get in the way of what could be a great friendship?  That same old confusion washed over her. How much worse would it be if John had actually taken her as a foster-daughter?  Suddenly, and unexpectedly, she was thankful he didn’t. An old familiar anger settled in next to her memories of John, but it’s not like she could do anything about it.

“I should really be going,” she told him.

“Yeah,” Steve said.  “Of course.” He held his hand out and she took it, shaking his hand.  “Uh, am I gonna see you at the graveyard next year?” 

“Yeah, I’ll be there.”

“Alright,” Steve said with a soft grin.

“Hope it won’t be that long before we see each other again, though,” she said as she started walking away.

Steve’s face lightened and his grin grew into a smile, “me too.”

~~~   
Ellie - January 15th, 2016   
~~~

Apparently Mary didn’t surf.  A fact that both shocked and amused Ellie to no end.  Steve was such a surfer she just assumed... She and Steve spent the morning teaching Mary how to paddle out and how to sit on a board.  The rest could come later. She spent enough of her childhood body surfing, so some of it was like riding a bike, but seeing her wobbly on a board still made for a few laughs.

They’d be spreading Mike’s ashes at sea in the afternoon.  Mike’s Gym had been left to Kalio, to no one’s surprise. He’d do good, Ellie was sure of it.  Mike’s things were sold in an estate sale, proceeds spread out between several children’s charities all over the island.  His house was put up for sale, and all that was left was one, final goodbye; spreading his ashes at sea. Ellie had invited Mary and Eli, as well as all of Five-0, as they were detrimental in solving his murder.

Kozlov confessed after only a little interrogation.  He wanted to use the journal to insure that the Yakuza owed him a nice payday.

Her foster-father dead in the pursuit of money, how wasteful.  

Mike’s journal proved to be a smoking gun in all things Noshimuri era Yakuza (she hadn’t checked in with Kono to see how Adam was doing, but from what it sounds like, Adam was away at college for most of the journal’s contents.)  It was enough evidence for judges to order the opening of several cold cases, and in three instances, enough to arrest one man on open murder investigations. The rest would be combed through and investigated over the foreseeable future.  Ellie would make sure the evidence wouldn’t waste away.

He’d left a note in the beginning of the journal.  He had opened his gym to Yakuza members and in return, they’d leave Kalio alone.  It worked, apparently, and Kalio was so moved by this revelation that he had to excuse himself from Steve’s office; a confirmation of a suspicion he had kept secret the whole investigation. 

The DA’s office was combing through the journal for anything else, documenting everything and everyone.  It was a win, in the end. And the money he was supposedly taking under the table? He never spent it. Opened a social security box and stashed everything, not wanting anything to do with it.  When Five-0 had it opened they found around a hundred thousand in small bills and a ledger with every bribe marked down.

Mike was a good man.

At least the case was solved relatively quickly.  How crazy was it that a McGarrett solved one father’s murder, and another McGarrett solved another father’s murder.  This family had certainly changed her life in so many ways. Steve and Mary stepped up in a way John never did, they were better than their father.

“Watch out, watch out,” Steve called as a wave knocked Mary over.  She fell into the water with a less than graceful splash. 

Ellie let out a deep laugh as Mary came back up with a pout on her face.  Steve joined her and the pout turned aggravated. 

“Stop,” she groaned.  “I don’t need it.”

They laughed again as she got back on her board.

Steve took the time to catch a juicy looking wave and waved at them before starting to paddle after it.  Mary and Ellie let him go and let it rise from underneath them. 

“I don’t think I ever said thank you,” Ellie told her.

“For what?”

“Investigating.  Without your help, I don’t know if…” she let herself drift off, but Mary seemed to understand.

Mary shrugged with one shoulder.  “I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but it’s kind of what our family does.”

Ellie grinned.  “Oh, I noticed that one, I think.” 

Mary smiled.  

“I hope-” she started, and then thought better of it.

“What?”

She shook her head.  “Nothing.”

“What?” Mary asked again, as another wave lifted them up again.

Ellie chewed on her lip for half a tick.  “I hope my history with John doesn’t color any friendship you and I could have.  It does with Steve from time to time. I’m angry at John for that.”

“Oh, it does,” Mary said immediately.  Ellie’s stomach dropped. “But that’s not your fault.”

“That’s very mature,” Ellie told her.

She rolled her eyes, “tell Steve that, if it comes up, yeah?  That you think I’m mature.” 

Ellie laughed, then she sighed.  “If it makes you feel any better, since you and I have had this… realization… about each other?  I second guess every memory I have of him, now.”

“A little, yeah,” Mary answered.  “He’s Steve’s hero.”

“Two weeks ago, I’d’ve said the same thing.”

“He was a good cop, and good man, but… a good father?”

Mary and Ellie stared at each other before slowly shaking their heads at each other.  It ended with them laughing and saying, “nooooo.” 

She pointed at Steve, who had managed to stay afloat for his whole wave and was finally sitting down.  He had turned around, to wave at them, excited for his decent ride. They both raised hands to wave back.

“We just have to get that through his head,” Mary said.

“‘We?’”

“I thought this was group therapy?”

The waters were calm for the funeral, like the ocean knew and stilled just for a good man and his found family.  They gathered in a circle, held hands, and together they said goodbye.


	6. Epilogue

~~~   
Mary - December 2015   
~~~

Together, just the two of them, Joan at the house with Danny and the kids, Steve and Mary climbed a mountain.  The last thing on Deb’s bucket list. It was a quiet trek, and there were a few tourists, but they weren’t making the trip up the mountain for the view.

They were doing this to say goodbye.

Mary’s true mother, the woman that took her in when her parents had stopped trying.  The woman that put up with her attitude and her running away and her daddy issues. The woman that reassured her about Joan, and answered the phone when she would call, frantic, early in the morning because her baby had a fever and wouldn’t stop crying.

The woman that loved her with all her heart and gave and gave and gave and didn’t expect anything in return.  Mary hoped to continue the tradition with her daughter.

They reached the top, and Mary was steadily crying.  Steve reached in his bag and pulled out Aunt Deb’s urn.  Gently, he kissed it. Mary reached out and put her hand on it, and together they stood, quiet, letting memories wash over them.

The wind was a light breeze towards the ocean.  It was perfect place. Together they removed the lid and let her ashes float away on the breeze.  Steve sat the urn down and threw an arm around Mary’s shoulders, she hugged him around the middle, and they watched the starts of a sunset.

“It’s just us now, Mare,” he said.

“I know,” Mary said softly.

“I know you aren’t supposed to make any big decisions so soon after a death but,” he hugged her closer.  “I want you nearby.”

“I’m not leaving for a few days.”

“That’s not what I meant.”

She wiped at her eyes and pulled back, “then what do you mean?”

“Come home, Mary.  Let’s give being a family a shot.”

“You mean it?” she asked.

He shrugged.  “It’s safe now, mom’s keeping the worst away.  And I miss you. And I want to get to know you.  I want to watch Joan grow up, and be there for her.  The way Aunt Deb was-.”

His voice got caught in his throat.

“Okay,” she said after only a moment of contemplation.  “Okay. I’ll move home.”

“Really?”

“Really.”

“Just like that?”

“All you had to do was ask.”

Really, truly, that’s all it took.  Mary just wanted to be wanted, in the end.  Deb told her that, Eli kept trying to tell her that… Mary wanted to be needed.  She supposed she and Steve shared that in common, at least. 

He hugged her tight, and she returned the favor.

“Good.  I’m tired of being alone.”

“You’re not alone, you’ve got Five-0, and those boys of yours.”

“They are foster kids,” Steve shrugged, wiping at his own face.  “They could be taken away at any moment.”

“Then do something about that.”

Something flickered across his face.  “Ya’ think?”

“Yeah, you idiot.  You love those boys.”

“It’s not that simple.”

“The fight for them alone will do wonders for them.  Do it.” 

Steve had his own moment of contemplation, staring out towards the sky.  Mary watched him with a glint in her eye, already knowing what he’d do. For a rough an exterior he thinks he puts out there, he’s a giant softy.  How the world ever thought the military was a right fit for him, she’ll never understand.

“I think I will.”

“Let’s grow this family,” she said, squeezing him.

“Yeah,” Steve smiled.  “Yeah, let’s make it huge.”

“Yeah,” She smiled with him.  “Overwhelmingly big.”

“So how many more kids are you adopting?  Or are you waiting for the right guy.”

“Oh, no, I’m one and done.  The numbers are up to you. And no,” Mary scoffed.

“...the right girl?” Steve asked gently.

She grinned.  “Ya’ know I thought that was the future for me for awhile, but nah.  I’m more asexual than anything.”

Steve made a face, “‘asexual?’” 

She chuckled, “Look it up.  I’m not explaining sexuality to my big brother.”  She moved to start down the mountain. “Come on, let’s get home before it gets dark.”

“Alright, alright.” 

She took in a moment to take in the sunset as Steve packed up his bag.  She was coming home. Steve wanted her home. Something in her heart settled.  A lifetime of traveling and uncertainty and being lost… she was finally coming home.  She and Steve were finally going to be family again, or at least the fight alone would be a wonder for her soul.

She gave a thought to her father, wherever his soul was, and she figured she’d never be over him, but a large, close family happy on this island is the best way to spite him, she supposed.  Maybe it would put both of them to rest.

Then 

“Does this mean you’re not straight?” 

“Steve.”

“What?”   
  


~~~   
Ellie - August 2015   
~~~

“...so I was wondering if you could… help move my fostering certification along.” 

“I don’t know what you think I can do Steve,” she said, flipping her hair over her shoulder and trying to keep the stack of files on her desk from falling over.  “I’m a prosecutor. Not a family attorney. And even then I don’t think a lawyer would help. There’s a process to these things for a reason.” 

He sighed, “I know.”  He said it like he had heard it over and over again.  “It’s just…” he sighed again. “I want to do more for this kid.”

The memory of his father flashed in front of her.  All the old feelings of want and need and disappointment flooded through her.  John was her lifeline in the same way that Steve was for Nahele. She had only met the boy a handful of times, but it was easy enough to see.  The look on his face when he looked at Steve was enough to tell her that much. 

All at once, the wall of skepticism she had placed in front of this favor he was asking fell to the ground in a cloud of dust.  She shook her head at herself for giving in so easy.

“Alright,” she gave in.  Steve lit up. “Now that’s not a promise I can do anything!  I have a few strings, but that doesn’t mean I can pull them.” 

“But you’re going to see?” he asked eagerly. 

She sat for a moment.  “You really want to do this?  Foster Nahele?” 

“Yes,” he said instantly.

“Then yes, I’ll see what my strings can do.” 

“Thank you, thank you, thank you,” he stood up, hands together like he was praying, bobbing up and down towards her.  He had said they were in the middle of case and he didn’t have long. “That’s all I ask. Beers are on me, next time.” He backed out of her office with a grin.

“I need that in writing, McGarrett,” she said with a grin, already flipping open the case file again.  She ducked her head to find her place.

“Now you’re sounding like Danny.”

“I’m taking that as a compliment,” she said without looking up.

“Wh-”

She paused in her file, looking up to him with another grin.  “Because you liiiike him. You wanna daaaaaate him.”

He instantly rolled his eyes and turned to leave her office, pulling the door behind him.  “Bye Ellie!” 

“Bye.  Say hello to Danny for me.” 

“I will.” 

“Also hey!” He paused just before the door shut.  “Romance is key to any seduct-”

“Bye Ellie!” he said again and shut the door. 

She giggled, found her place, and kept reading the deposition, looking for the right phrase… but found herself unable to concentrate.

Steve was a better man than John.  Ellie deserved more from him. So did Steve.  And yet here was Steve, stepping up in such a big way that John never did…

It didn’t quite work with John, but Steve wasn’t John - he was proving that with Nahele.  Maybe she could find family in Steve. Maybe he had room in his life for another sister.

She’d have to talk to him about it.  She had a feeling he’d say yes, and she found herself looking forward to the conversation.  

Smiling, she shook her head, and focused the deposition, feeling ten times lighter than she did before Steve bounded into her office asking favors.  If she looked a little closer, she’d probably figure out why, but it was so much emotion, so much feeling, that she’d have to stop and cry and cry and cry until her heart felt better, like her father taught her.

For now, she had too much work to do.  She’d stop by the bar on her way home tonight, put on a song, and let it all out.


	7. Epilogue... part two

~~~   
Steve - February 6th, 2016   
~~~

“I don’t understand,” Ellie said, putting down her fork.  “The man obviously loves you.”

“I’m with Ellie,” Mary said, reaching for her coffee.  “You’re an idiot. Danny’s trying to be what you need.”

“I don’t need anything.” 

“Liar,” Ellie said.  “Right,” Mary said. They were both unbelieving. 

Steve knew Danny’s declaration that he wasn’t going anywhere in the car the week before was a big moment for the both of them.  He had looked at Steve with such honesty and vulnerability and almost everything inside Steve told him to reach out and accept it.  Hell, even these two women in front of him were telling him the same thing.

But this wasn’t about Steve.  This was about Jack, about Nahele.  He had to be the best father he could be.  If that meant breaking his own heart - breaking Danny’s heart - then that was a sacrifice he was going to make.

He watched as Ellie turned to Mary, “so do you think these are mommy issues or daddy issues?” 

“I’m not sure,” Mary said, eyes narrowing on Steve.  Steve rolled his eyes under the scrutiny. “It could be some internalized homophobia, too.” 

“Mmm,” Ellie mused, like she hadn’t thought of that.

“It’s not homoph-” Steve stopped himself with a quick, calming breath.  “Danny is not the first man I’ve had feelings for, okay?” 

Both of them sat forward, wide eyed and interested and Steve rolled his eyes again.

“We are not talking about my sex life!” Steve said.  “We agreed no judgement about sex,” and he looked straight at Mary, “or lack of sex, at these breakfasts.” 

“So does this mean you’re not straight?” Mary asked him with a bit of a teasing grin. 

“Oh my god,” Steve groaned, and threw his head into his hands.

Both ladies laughed at his discomfort.  Steve looked up to see them sharing a secretive look.

“Glad to see you two bonding over my troubles,” he groaned.

“They are only troubles because of yourself,” Ellie said, reaching forward to put a comforting hand on his arm.

“You did just admit you have feelings for him,” Mary said.  “You’re hurting because you’re not with him. You’re not with him because you won’t let yourself be because of some leftover hurt about dad sending you away or mom leaving.  Or both.”

“Ugh,” Steve groaned.  Ellie joked about group therapy sessions, but my god did Mary really have to take her seriously?  “Why are we talking about this?” 

“Because we, as sisters,” and Steve noticed the way Ellie lit up as Mary said the word, “have earned the right to tease you and poke you and smack you over the head when you do something stupid.” 

Steve found himself widening his eyes, like Grace does when she’s trying not to roll her eyes.

“Girl’s gotta point.” 

He and Ellie had decided very early on that their connection was too messy to be anything other than friendship.  The more they talked the more they realized they had so much in common. Not just John, but a love of surfing, a love for the island, a desire to keep it safe, a love of fishing and easy afternoon fish fry’s, a soft spot for classic cars and cold beers.  It was an easy friendship.

After taking in Jack and Nahele, he realized he and Ellie’s connection was deeper than he realized.  It was about choice. They could choose to look at their shared daddy issues as a pain, ignore it, let it fester, go their separate ways, let themselves feel alone and isolated in it all, or they could open their worlds to each other.

They shared no DNA.  Technically, they didn’t even share John as a father.  But they both carried similar scars.

“Thank you, Ellie,” Mary said proudly.

The last month made Steve realize he really didn’t know all that much about his sister.  She had a secret career, she had come out to him after who knows how long of knowing that about herself, she shared how she met her daughter, she talked about her travel and how she’d still like to keep that up.  Things he should have known, but didn’t. From the way their conversations went, the feeling seemed to be mutual. 

He really was getting to know what it was to have a sister for the first time in his life.  And for the first time it didn’t feel like he was letting her down somehow. John did that, not him.

He sighed and leaned forward again, “I hate therapy.” 

“No you don’t,” Ellie said, stealing a piece of his too-burnt bacon.  “You wouldn’t show up to breakfast if you did.”

Steve gave her a confused look.

She waved a finger in a circle, motioning to all three of them.  “This is a messed up relationship and we all know it.” Mary and Steve shared a look and a chuckle.  “See? We’re here because we all need to talk about things that only we understand from time to time.” 

They sat in a comfortable silence, taking that in.

“That’s insanely mature,” Mary said, impressed.

Ellie sat up, proud of herself.

“She also makes a point,” Mary said, looking at Steve.

“What?” 

“As much as Danny loves you, and as much as he’s aware of your issues, he doesn’t know what it is to be disappointed by his father.”

Steve sat back.  “That’s true. His parents are saints.” 

“Which is why he’s such a good dad.”  Mary sniffed. “You and I don’t exactly have the best role models.  We’re just trying to do our best.” 

“So you understand?” 

“Yeah,” Mary said with a sad face.  Ellie bit her lip for half a second, like she wanted to say something.  “But it’s still stupid.” Ellie’s face turned satisfied. 

“As much as we love you,” Ellie said gently.  “And as much as we are aware of your issues, he still knows you better than we do.” 

“We are on fire today!” Mary said, holding up a hand.  Ellie high fived it happily. 

“I should have never introduced the two of you,” Steve groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose.

They only shared a grin and high fived again.

**Author's Note:**

> THIS STILL ISN'T THE LAST FIC IN THIS SERIES. There's so many guys. And I'm writing as best I can but my brain can only do so much, apparently. So slowly and surely will win this race. Hopefully. IM GONNA WRITE IT ALL. ~~I gotta fix it~~
> 
> Wow. Hope you enjoyed this!


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